Driven By Instinct, Guided To Love
by AmandaArtiste
Summary: The koorime are a race of ice maidens who reproduce every hundred years. Hiei part koorime has a 100th birthday coming up soon. Being a male he'll need a mate, so who's the 'lucky' girl? HieiBotan RR
1. Death is a Fickle Mistress

**A/N:** This is a fanfic I wrote in response to LadyKurama's challenge. The pairing featured is Hiei/Botan and as required it will be quite lemony. I couldn't stand to write this without having an actual plot though so it's not all one big lemon. Enjoy, reviews are appreciated, flamers will be laughed at. Just so you know, I have a tendency to use Japanese and English words interchangeably (ex: youkai/demon, ningen/human, etc.) WARNING: This fic is NOT for kiddies! It also takes place after the series.

**Disclaimer:** I do NOT own Yu Yu Hakusho or its characters. All I own is this story and any characters not part of the series/manga.

_**Driven by Instinct, Guided to Love**_

_Chapter One: Death is a Fickle Mistress_

The clanging of swords, painful howls, and outraged screams rang through the stormy autumn night. Growling in frustration a short stature youkai clad in long black robes dug his heels into the rocky ground to keep balance after the larger swamp green youkai repelled his attack.

Across the quarry another demon slashed his horrendously large claws out at carrot topped man in a torn punk band t-shirt and baggy faded jeans. Reforming his Spirit Sword the ningen concentrated the last of his Spirit Energy into the weapon, leaving him drained yet the sword at double its size and power. It was a desperate move, but not an unusual risk.

Not far away from the two fighters stood a third lone figure amidst a ring of boulders. His ruby red hair swirled about in the raging winds of the storm. The rain would soon be falling, adding sopping mud to the already unfavorable terrain. Raising his right hand he plucked a rose from somewhere behind his ear. In one fluid motion the harmless looking flower took on the shape of a thorny whip. A small, barely visible smirk played on the man's calm visage as he lashed out at the demons hiding among the large stones.

A streak of lightning lit the sky soon followed by a loud rumble of thunder. Nature itself appeared to be setting the mood for the gruesome battle. Up ahead of the others another human stood with his arms stretched out in front of him. Both hand locked together, his index finger extended to resemble the barrel of a gun. Mahogany eyes were locked with the piercing yellow irises of his target. The youkai gave a toothy grin and chuckled in a deep tone that only a crazed monster could manage.

The glow of the creature's eyes intensified as he spoke, "So Spirit Detective, we meet at last. I see that Koenma's informants have finally managed to figure out where we've been hiding."

"Yeah and it wasn't all that hard either." the detective—Yusuke Urameshi—remarked smugly. "Heck the stench alone was enough to give the guys all the way in Spirit World your exact coordinates."

"Oh really?" the clay colored demon balled his massive hands into fists, slamming them down onto the gravel littered ground, causing the entire quarry to shake. "Then perhaps it's time my comrades and I bathed...IN A POOL OF YOUR BLOOD!!!"

The sudden earthquake was enough to sidetrack the remaining fighters, leaving them open for attack from the 'comrades' of the head demon, who were use to his method of combat.

"AAHHH!!" the carrot top screamed as the demon he'd been battling caught him in the side with one of the scythe-like blades protruding from its elbows.

"Kuwabara!" the redhead shouted as his critically wounded friend hit the ground. He would've rushed over to help had it not been for the black skinned demon that emerged from behind an unnoticed boulder. He'd hidden away, biding his time as the fox youkai in the ningen body had slashed apart his allies. Now he gripped the end of his opponent's whip between his clawed fingers. With a quick yank he disarmed the surprised man.

"Kurama you fool!" the black clad youkai shouted as he swung his katana, blocking the green demon's attack. "Don't let your guard down during a battle! If the oaf can't take care of himself then he deserves to die!"

"Thanks a lot Shorty!" Kuwabara yelled, rolling to the side to avoid the demon's killer scythe extensions.

Yusuke struggled to remain upright as the demon before him repeatedly pounded his fists into the ground. The jolts from the impact grew sharper each time, Yusuke was caught somewhere between motion sickness and whiplash. The rocky battlefield shook fiercely, slinging his body in all directions; it was getting difficult to maintain balance.

_Heh, still..._ Yusuke grinned ...this_ is **nothing** compared to Grandma's training!_

"You hold your ground well for a human," the head demon chided, "but I bet by now you're seeing double. Time to test your aim!"

Swallowing the lump in his throat Yusuke did his best to aim straight at the oversized youkai charging straight for him. Just as he got into close range the demon sprang up into the air and came crashing down just short of the confused detective.

"Huh?!" he exclaimed, "Where the heck did that jerk go?!"

Rain started pouring down now, the wind blowing it sideways, obscuring everyone's view. Fortunately this gave Kuwabara time to scramble away before the large clawed youkai got a chance to skewer him. Unfortunately, for Yusuke, it also gave the head demon cover so that when he reemerged, the detective was caught completely off guard.

A gigantic, rock hard hand shot up from the muddy ground behind the raven haired ningen. "What the-?!"

The others turned to see Yusuke caught in the demon's clutches and dragged underground.

_Yusuke!_ Kurama worried, but Hiei was right, he HAD to stay focused. Sometimes his reluctance to ever take his Yoko form again seemed like a fatal mistake. But he'd defeated several foes before in his human form, and he would surely be able to do so again!

Dodging an attack by the black-skinned demon who now wielded his Rose Whip the redhead scooped up a handful of mud and spun around. The mud was slung right in the fierce red eyes of his adversary who had rushed forward to acquire a better shot. Cursing the dark toned demon clawed at his eyes, trying to clear his vision. In the process he'd dropped the whip.

Kurama dove for the whip and snatched it back just as the demon's eyesight was cleared. The creature reached for his weapon only to find it missing. Looking up again his scaly neck was snared by the thorny vine.

"I think it's time you were taught a lesson about taking things that don't belong to you." Kurama's evergreen eyes flashed with an unmistakable trace of gold.

The demon gulped...his_ last_ gulp.

Out of spirit energy Kuwabara staggered away from his demon pursuer, noting with panic that the rain was slacking off. "Oh great, can't I ever catch a break?!"

"You might try shutting your mouth if you don't want to be found." the youkai with scythe appendages sneered.

Startled Kuwabara stumbled backwards as the huge muscled demon stalked forward. Rain ran off the massive creature in rivers but it wasn't enough to mask the drool dripping from its exposed fangs. "I'm going to enjoy devouring your soul human."

"H-hey!" Kuwabara shouted, "Just because my spirit energy's all used up doesn't mean I'm defenseless!"

The demon only cackled at this, continuing his advance on the quaking man.

Putting up his fists Kuwabara prepared to fight. It was no big secret that he didn't stand much of a chance against the larger, stronger demon, but he couldn't let the other guys see him go down as a cowering wimp!

_That runt Hiei would never let me hear the end of it if I did!_ the carrot top concluded.

"Bring it on Ugly!" he roared, "Kazuma Kuwabara does NOT back down from a fight!"

Leaping into the air the hulking youkai was mere inches from his prey when an enormous plant suddenly sprouted out of the muddy soil beneath him. The creature barely had time to take in what had just happened before he was engulfed by huge palm frond shaped leaves.

The leaves shook violently as the dying screams of the demon encased within overpowered the booming thunder.

Shaking like a leaf himself Kuwabara slipped while stepping backward and came splashing down in a mud puddle. A faint laugh was heard as Kurama stepped out from behind the carnivorous plant.

"Need a hand?" he offered, giving Kuwabara a hand up.

"Yeah thanks," Kuwabara said as Kurama helped him to his feet, "I could've taken him ya know?"

"Of course," Kurama sweatdropped.

Hiei had had enough of the swamp green demon brutishly assaulting him. His attacks weren't even coordinated; the creature was simply lashing out wildly in an attempt to land a crucial blow.

_If it weren't for the beast's hideously bulky arms I could have slashed him apart by now!_ Hiei growled mentally.

He needed an opening, unleashing the Dragon of the Darkness Flame would be foolish in this enclosed location. Even though he could merge with the creature and avoid obliteration (no doubt Kurama could out maneuver it somehow) the two ningens would be swallowed whole by his bloodthirsty attack.

Speaking of ningens...

_Detective, where are you?!_ Hiei demanded telepathically.

For a moment all he could hear was silence before...

_Right under you!_

Hiei's crimson eyes widened, _What?!_

_This rock headed bastard is barreling straight up! He's gonna ram you if ya don't move quick!!!_ Yusuke warned.

Glancing up Hiei spotted the green demon rushing towards him again, obviously unaware of his boss's oncoming attack. _Hn, I have a better idea._ the fire youkai smirked.

The rock-oriented demon must have the ability to sense his opponents from underground if he knew exactly where to aim. Therefore all Hiei had to do was lure the green demon close enough, wait until the last possible second, then use his inhuman speed to dodge the attack leaving the lackey to perish.

With the spirit detective trapped in his stony clutches the clay colored youkai dug his way back to the surface at a speed nearly as fast as Hiei could muster running. His ability to morph his clawed hand into a drill-like shape was something that Koenma either hadn't known, or had foolishly neglected to mention. Either way, Yusuke was gonna give the shrimpy toddler a piece of his mind when and if he lived through this case.

_I've got you now!_ the head demon chuckled upon breaking through the surface. An agonized scream met his ears. The large youkai emerged completely from the ground which was now a mixture of rock and mud to revel in the sight of his fallen enemy. But his evil grin faded when he saw his own comrade lying motionless a short distance away, a gaping hole in his abdomen.

"HA! Take THAT Granite Face!" Yusuke crowed.

The demon looked down scowling, preparing to crush the twerp. His mouth still agape in preparation to curse the ningen he saw that Yusuke had managed to free his arms. With his hands once again locked, index finger extended he aimed straight for the youkai's open mouth and...

"SPIRIT GUN!!!"

* * *

"Lord Koenma sir!" a rather large ogre named George shouted as he came bursting through the doors to the tiny king's office.

"What is it Ogre?" Koenma asked without looking up from his work. All this paperwork was making him rather cranky. It would help if someone else around here was qualified to take over at least half the workload but alas, until he had children of his own the judgment of departed souls was his duty alone.

"Lord Koenma," George panted, "Yusuke and the others have returned from Ningenkai, their mission was a success."

"That's good," Koenma nodded, "send them in right away."

"Yes sir," George gave a hasty bow before darting back out into the bustling hall.

An ebony haired ferry girl wearing a dark kimono phased through the wall behind Koenma's desk. "Lord Koenma."

"Yes Ayame?" this time Koenma met her gaze.

"I have some rather urgent news sir." she stated placidly.

"Well I'm afraid that it will have to wait." Koenma sighed, "I'm debriefing the detectives right now."

"Yes sir," Ayame nodded, "I will return shortly."

"Very well." Koenma dismissed her with a gentle wave as she left the way in which she'd entered.

Seconds later the doors were flung open and a rather peeved Yusuke stomped up to Koenma's desk. "WHAT THE HELL KOENMA?!?!" he exclaimed slamming his fists down for emphasis.

A few stacks of papers overturned, flying across the room. Koenma looked up at the detective from the tops of his half-lidded eyes. "I take it something unexpected took place on your mission?"

A vein in Yusuke's forehead began to throb, "I'LL SAY SOMETHING UNEXPECTED HAPPENED! THE FREAKIN' HEAD DEMON DRILLED RIGHT THROUGH THE QUARRY!!!"

Koenma took a minute to ponder this, "Hm, yes well that does seem a bit surprising. I'll have the Research Department look into the matter."

Left eye twitching Yusuke repeated, "Look into the matter? Look into the matter?! Kinda late now seeing as how I already beat the guy!"

Koenma arched an eyebrow, "Then what are you so upset about?"

"I GOT A WORM'S EYE VIEW OF ABOUT 3 MILES OF MUD AND ROCK!"

"Hm, yes and from the looks of things I say it's time for you to return to the Human World and clean yourself up. You're a mess." the toddler remarked after regarding Yusuke's muddy and blood stained appearance.

Hiei decided it was time to leave; Yusuke would burst a lung yelling a response to Koenma's last comment.

Without so much as a 'goodbye' to the others he turned and headed back out the double doors, unnoticed by anyone. He'd get back to Ningenkai on his own; he didn't need the toddler to open a portal for him. He'd made his way out of Reikai once before without his help. Hiei smirked as he recalled how easy it had been to sneak in and steal the Artifacts of Darkness.

He would've left for Makai but since leaving Mukuro's realm after her unexpected marriage to Lord Yomi he'd had no real reason to return. It was now Shura's job to patrol the border for stray humans, erasing their memory and shipping them back to Ningenkai where they belonged. Mukuro had appointed him this position after Hiei had expressed a desire to leave (feeling no longer needed) and watch over his sister who preferred to live with Genkai in the human world.

The trouble was, while he had been in Makai the oaf had grown noticeably closer to his sister. And he couldn't outright forbid her from seeing him. She still didn't know of their relation and he wasn't about to let the lovesick antics of Kuwa_baka _force him into revealing his true identity to her.

Now the two spent most of their time together, it was only a matter of time before this ludicrous 'courting' turned in to something more. Hiei still hadn't decided if it was worth making sweet Yukina cry just to be rid of the oaf. Kuwabara was impressive for a human, he'd give him that, but that didn't mean he wanted the loudmouthed jabbering idiot for an in-law. Rather or not Yukina or Kuwabara ever found out, he'd still know it and that was torture enough!

Lost in his thoughts he bumped into a passing ferry girl causing her to drop the mound of folders she'd been carrying.

"Hey!" a familiar voice shouted as both figures hit the floor.

Hiei was about to curse the clumsy woman for not watching where she was going until he looked up and saw a pair of all too familiar bright magenta eyes. _Oh perfect_, he thought, _the baka ferry onna._

Botan glared at him as papers from the folders rained down around her. From her disheveled appearance he guessed she'd been working off of less than two hours sleep. Then again, she was a ferry girl, did they actually _need_ sleep? Well, even if Botan didn't the human body Koenma had given her certainly did.

"Hn, watch where you're going onna." he muttered, pushing himself up.

"You ran into ME Hiei!" she snapped, scrambling to gather up the papers and stuff them back inside the appropriate folders. "Thanks a lot by the way, this is going to take me forever to re-file!"

Rolling his eyes the fire youkai stooped down and rapidly sorted, filed, and restacked the papers in their appropriate folders.

Botan blinked as he stood and nudged the stack over to her with the side of his foot. "There, baka ningens, always making things more difficult than they have to be."

"Uh, t-thanks Hiei." Botan stuttered. It wasn't like Hiei to do anything—well—nice.

Standing up and struggling a bit to balance the stack she eyed him suspiciously, "Are you...feeling okay?"

Hiei just snorted and moved to shove past her. He was stopped by a soft hand pressed to his forehead. He looked up to see Botan balancing the heavy stack in one arm while holding her free hand against his brow.

The white headband was pushed against his Jagan Eye but not hard enough to hurt. Grunting Botan yanked the headband off his head. Hiei snarled but was interrupted by her grumbling, "Honestly Hiei how am I supposed to tell if you have a fever when you never take off this darn headband?"

Snatching the cloth away from her he retorted, "I don't have a fever onna! I was just tired of hearing you complain!"

He wasn't just irritated by her actions. His _reaction_ bothered him far more. The heat that had coursed through his body from the electrifying sensation of her touch to his sensitive third eye made him question if he really was coming down with something.

Botan gave him a disbelieving look. "You don't seem so healthy Hiei. Your face is flushed; you must have at least a low grade fever."

Frowning in surprise Hiei unsheathed just enough of his katana so that he could check his reflection. Sure enough his entire face was covered by a reddish tinge. But...it wasn't a feverish tinge. No, this was something unusual for him. He was...blushing?!

Fake coughing he hurriedly shoved past Botan. She slapped her free hand on top of the stack of folders to keep from dropping them again.

When she looked over her shoulder to scold him she found that he'd disappeared somewhere amongst the crowd of ferry girls and ogres. Sighing she shook her head, _I'll never understand what possesses that moody fire demon to act the way he does._

* * *

A few minutes after Yusuke had finally had enough of arguing with Koenma and stormed out followed by a nervously smiling Kurama and a slightly less agitated Kuwabara the ferry girl Ayame returned to give Koenma her urgent news.

"Yes Ayame, I'm listening." the young ruler said as he surveyed the mess Yusuke had made during his little tantrum.

"Lord Koenma," Ayame took a file out from her small stack of folders and held it out for the toddler to take, "I was glancing over the files for the Spirit Detective team when I came across a most intriguing bit of information regarding the fire demon."

Arching an eyebrow Koenma took the file and started flipping through it.

"You'll find the information noted on page four under Section 7C: Reproductive Notes." the ferry girl continued. "It clearly states that while Hiei is a fire demon he is still part of the koorime race. And being so, it is quite likely that he will undergo a reproduction cycle similar to that of his sister."

Koenma's brown eyes nearly popped out of his skull. "WHAT?!"

"You see sir," Ayame explained, "the koorime are a race consisting entirely of females. Therefore they reproduce asexually."

"Yes yes I know," Koenma stated impatiently. "And I could see how this sort of thing would pertain to Yukina. But Hiei is a MALE, what does any of this have to do with him?!"

"Be that as it may Koenma he will still be driven by his koorime instincts to reproduce on his hundredth birthday. Meaning that since he is a male, he'll most likely develop an overwhelming desire to obtain a mate." the faired skinned ferry girl concluded.

Reading over the contents of the file Koenma reluctantly realized that the lunacy he was hearing was most likely true. Oh boy...

"So," he forced himself to ask the dreaded question, "how old is Hiei anyway?"

Ayame cast her eyes down, her frown twisting back in a nervous way. "Well sir, if our records are correct, he's 99 years of age."

Koenma nearly swallowed his pacifier, "WHAT?!" Digging through the file in his hands nervously he stuttered, "A-and just **_when_** is his birthday?!"

Clutching the files in her hands tighter the ferry girl replied softly, "Two days from now."

The bustling halls of the Spirit World castle were shocked to silence as the ruler's shrill cry echoed throughout the stunned building. "**_TWO DAYS?!?!_**"

* * *

_Amanda/Artiste_: That's the first chapter; I've decided to make this a multi-chapter fic. But I won't make it too long. Next Chapter: Hiei and Botan's paths cross again. How will he react when his instincts start to kick in? Better yet...what will the 'baka ferry onna' have to say when his odd behavior is directed towards her?! Please review, no flames! Oh and if you're wondering about how the heck Yomi and Mukuro wound up together, well...that's a story for another time!


	2. What Drew Me to You

**A/N:** Thanks for reviewing; I hope everyone continues to enjoy this story. It's not easy to try and write a lemon while keeping everyone in character but I'll give it a shot. Hm...now the big question is...which chapters to include lemons in? Oh yeah, Yukina WILL be going through the 'traditional' Koorime reproduction cycle...only...well, why ruin the surprise?

_**Driven by Instinct, Guided to Love**_

_Chapter Two: What Drew Me to You_

_I'm worried about Hiei. He wasn't acting at all like himself today. I wonder what's wrong. I hope he's not sick. Hiei, get sick? I guess it's possible..._

These thoughts among many others raced through the baffled mind of the blue-haired ferry girl as she wandered down the sidewalk of Yusuke's home town. She was disguised in ningen clothes, a hot pink tank top beneath a long-sleeved black top that fell midway down her back (left unbuttoned). The wide legs of her flared jeans drug the ground as she walked lost in thought.

After work she'd hustled away from Reikai before Koenma could assign her any last minute tasks. Honestly, she had a human body again, that meant she required a certain amount of rest, food, and other essentials to stay healthy. Sometimes she seriously questioned if Koenma knew that before giving her the ningen vessel.

Oh well, she'd made up her mind to go and pay the reclusive fire youkai a visit. Just to check up on him, then she'd high tail it out of there before he could get into one of his _'if you don't get out of my business this instant I swear I'll deliver you a slow and painful demise baka onna'_ moods.

Botan shuddered as she thought about how cranky the dark-haired half koorime could be.

_Hm, now which tree is he sleeping in? Oh yes! There he is._ Botan smiled upon spotting the napping youkai hidden amidst the autumn leaves. "Hiei!" she chirped from below his branch.

Somewhere within the mass of beautiful gold and bright orange leaves the fire demon's eyes twitched slightly, a mischievous yet contented smile spread over his lips. "Mmm...onna," he muttered, clearly still asleep.

Botan blinked in confusion, "Um, Hiei?"

Hiei's head started to rock back against his hands which were folded behind it. His smile grew as he whole body seemed to stretch out. "Botan....!" he murmured as if it were the sweetest, most enticing name in the world.

The startled ferry girl's cheeks went bright red at this. _Oh my gosh!_ she gulped, _He's worse than I thought! The fever has made him delusional!_

Before Hiei's groggy ramblings could get any louder—or his unconscious actions any more suggestive—Botan leapt up on a lower branch and hastily climbed higher until she was sitting on the far end of the one Hiei was reclined on.

"**HIEI!!!**" she yelled while fiercely shaking the branch.

Crimson orbs flew open, limbs struck out in every direction, in an attempt to block an unseen attack Hiei had almost fallen off the branch. He managed to catch himself at the last minute though by grabbing the branch with both arms. He now resembled a large, rotted, piece of fruit dangling from the tree.

Very amused laughter caught his attention, very **_familiar_** amused laughter. "ONNA..." he growled.

Botan's giggles died down as she stretched out a hand to help the irritated fire demon up. "I'm sorry Hiei, it's just that you were..." she trailed off when Hiei's face turned beet red in embarrassment, "...uh, you were...having a nightmare! That's it! You were tossing and turning and muttering stuff I couldn't hear so I decided to wake you up!"

Arching an eyebrow Hiei looked at the sweatdropping ferry girl skeptically. Well, if she wasn't going to acknowledge what he'd really been dreaming about then neither was he. _Hn, maybe I'm lucky. Maybe she really is too foolish to realize that she was currently starring a disturbing daytime fantasy of mine. Yuck, I can hardly believe it myself._

Botan leaned forward on her edge of the branch studying Hiei in order to figure out what illness he might've caught. Whatever it was, it had to be seriously potent to infect Hiei. And incredibly strong to induce _THAT_ sort of delusion! She only hoped it wasn't catching.

Hiei's gaze met her own as he too leaned forward, trying to figure out what in the world had brought Yusuke's assistant to his tree. "Don't tell me it's another mission from that knee-high fool Koenma."

"Huh?" Botan questioned, "Oh no! Nothing like that. It's just...well...I was worried about you."

Noting the pink tint to her cheeks a small trace of a grin appeared on his face. "Worried about me? Why would you be worried about me?"

"B-because," Botan stuttered nervously, "earlier today you seemed...unwell. Like maybe you were coming down with something? And then I arrived to find you um..." Hiei's eyes darkened warning Botan to choose her words carefully or else, "...having a nightmare! So I want to check on you."

"Hn," Hiei reclined back against the tree again, "well as you can see I'm perfectly fine. Now mind your own business onna. Go away."

"Well!" Botan huffed pushing herself up to a standing position she accidentally bonked her head on a higher branch.

This caused Hiei to chuckle a bit. "Such a baka onna." he mused.

Rubbing her sore head Botan glared daggers at him. His smug expression never once changed. "I don't know why I bothered wasting my time with you anyway Hiei. It's not like you'll ever appreciate the fact that someone was actually worried enough to come check on you!"

"I don't need anyone to watch out for me onna." Hiei placidly replied, "You've wasted both our times."

"Fine!" Botan summoned her oar, now that she was hidden from view it would be easy to just fly home rather than walk or shell out bus fare.

"Leaving?" Hiei's tone seemed pleased.

"Yes, for your information I'm going home to my apartment!" she stated hotly.

Hiei lifted his head from his chest, "You have your own apartment? In Ningenkai? How pointless, did Koenma buy if for you so you'd stop pestering him?"

"NO!" Botan exclaimed, balling her fists in anger. "I bought it myself Hiei and it's quite a lovely place!"

"Hn."

"Ooo..." Botan jumped atop her oar and rose to the treetop preparing to fly off. _I swear he's the most arrogant, frustrating, no good, belittling jerk I've ever met!_

Hiei tilted his head upwards and watched the pissed ferry girl fly off into the heavens and out of view. Intent on resuming his nap...sans unnerving fantasy...he rested his chin back on his chest.

But alas, sleep would not come. In fact, he hadn't the slightest desire to doze off as was typical for him when he had spare time and wasn't training or visiting Yukina. Right now he felt...restless. A strong, indescribable pull kept him awake and on edge. It had happened just as soon as the ferry girl had departed. He couldn't explain it, but for some reason, he wanted to follow her.

_Hn, I must be curious about this new 'apartment' of hers_. he concluded, _I'll just drop by, scoff at the place, enjoy watching smoke poor from her ears, and then be on my way._

With this in mind he quickly sprinted off, using his Jagan Eye to keep track of the blue-haired girl's movements.

* * *

Upon arriving at her apartment the peeved ferry girl spun her oar out of existence then stormed into her bedroom plopping face down her lavender comforter with the sky blue swirls and bright yellow stars.

"Grr...HIEI!" she growled into one of her pillows.

Why did he always have to be so...him! Every time she tried to get herself on friendly terms with the moody little half koorime he'd go and push her away, sometimes physically but mostly with his harsh words and vivid threats. Well she was done trying! Hiei could waste his life away sulking and watching from afar as the rest of the gang lived out their lives, actually participating in them rather than watching and making cynical remarks from the shadows.

The soft creak of a loose board reached her ear. Snapping her head up she froze, listening again for the noise. While she heard nothing she could still feel a pair of strange eyes staring at her from behind.

She materialized her metal bat in her left hand which was currently tucked beneath her pillow (a.k.a. muffler/silencer) then rapidly spun around brandishing her weapon, "Alright who the hell are y-"

A pair of scarlet colored orbs gazed back at her emotionlessly.

"-HIEI?!"

"Hn, is this the way you handle your anger?" he replied in a bored tone, "You're even more pathetic than I thought."

Growling she hopped off her bed and stalked up to the unwavering demon. "I don't remember ASKING for your opinion Hiei! And just what are you doing here anyway?!"

_Well at least she didn't start crying like some helpless fool._ Hiei observed with mild relief. He hated when the baka onna got all misty-eyed over nothing. _I wonder if she knows how utterly stupid she looks when she's mad. Her nose scrunched up, shoulders raised, face red, and those gorgeous eyes flickering with fire..._

Botan's features relaxed a bit when she saw Hiei's expression take on a slightly dazed almost dreamy look. _Is this his fever coming back?_

"Um, Hiei?" when he didn't reply she waved her hand in front of his face, "Hiei? Hiei!"

Jolting out of his odd train of thought Hiei tried to salvage his pride. "You don't have to yell onna! I'm right here!"

"Maybe physically," Botan muttered, "but your brain's off in LaLa Land."

"LaLa Land?" Hiei inquired as if Botan were some jabbering lunatic.

Nodding she replied, "I still say you're sick Hiei."

"I am NOT sick." Hiei insisted, growing tired of Botan's ridiculous speculation.

"Well if you're not sick-" the bright magenta eyed girl placed a finger under her chin and twisted her head sideways to think.

For some reason Hiei found this irresistibly cute. _CUTE?!_ Hiei mentally slapped himself in the head. _I can't find the onna cute! I don't find ANYTHING cute! Okay, well maybe Yukina...but she's always playing with those cuddly little forest animals. Ugh, it's a wonder I don't cavities from watching stuff that sugary sweet. And now Botan's..._

Botan glanced down at Hiei from the corner of her eye and saw him staring up at her, his face going from pink to deep red. She swore she could hear his heartbeat, and it was rapidly increasing. _Hm...what on Earth could make Hiei act this way? Especially if he isn't sick? I wonder...AHA!_

Botan bounced up and down happily after putting the pieces together then flashed a 'V for Victory' sign in the startled fire youkai's face.

"Bingo! Bingo! Bingo!" she cried joyously, "I've got it Hiei! I know why you're acting all spacey and why you keep turning every shade of red in the book!" she clasped her hands together and tucked them under her tilted cheek, "Aw Hiei, you're in love!"

"WHAT?!" Hiei grew rigid, nothing would move, not his arms or his legs, he was glued to his spot on the cloudy blue carpet. _I'm not in love! What the heck is that baka onna thinking?! I'm Hiei Jaganeshi! I don't fall in love!!!_

"Oh Hiei, who is she?!" Botan asked, forgetting all about being angry with him. If Hiei was in love then she could certainly understand the weird mood swings.

Narrowing his eyes the demon replied dangerously, "Listen to me onna, and listen to me good. I am NOT in love!"

Waving her index finger with her free hand on her hip she merely 'tsked' him. "You can't fool me Hiei Jaganeshi. I've known a lot of people in my afterlife—both human and demon—so I certainly know a love struck heart when I see one."

Hiei's right eyebrow was twitching, his eyes and fists clenched tightly. He felt a vein in his forehead, half covered by his white bandanna, starting to throb. "Baka onna! If you don't shut your mouth right now I swear I'll-"

_Oh this is sweet!_ Botan thought with a smirk, _All those years of being teased and threatened and now I FINALLY have a chance to get back at Hiei! This'll be so much fun! I can't wait to tell Yusuke and the others! I'm sure they'd like some revenge too, I **know** Kuwabara would._

He began to get nervous when her expression changed from moronic bliss to devious scheming. In spite of himself Hiei gulped. Botan took this unusual sign of weakness as her cue.

"Hiei and his girlfriend sittin' in a tree!" she chanted with the smirk growing wider and craftier.

Growling deep within his throat the fire demon stood on his tiptoes, getting right in her face, "**_Onna_**...!" he warned.

But Botan was undaunted, revenge was sweet and this was all hers. Besides, when was she likely to EVER get a chance like this again?!

"K-I-S-S-I-N-" she continued placing strong taunting emphasis on each letter.

Gnashing his fangs together Hiei snarled and pounced.

"**G!!!**" Botan shouted as she was knocked back onto her bed.

Looking up she saw a very agitated fire demon looming over her. He had her wrists pinned down just above her head and was straddling her waist, using his weight to trap her.

Seeing the shocked and frightened look his prey was giving him Hiei felt something sinister and primal deep within him take over. His scowl turned into a fang revealing smirk, his blood red eyes glowing brighter, he bent down so that his nose was pressed against the shaken girl beneath him.

"I warned you," he whispered in a smooth yet malevolent tone.

Botan swallowed hard and tried to wriggle out of his firm grasp. The clawed fingers only tightened around her bruising wrists. "H-Hiei?"

His fiery eyes became half lidded as he moved his face down the side of her head, stopping when he came to her ear. He gave it a playful lick. "Onna," he moaned seductively, enjoying the helpless whimpers escaping the woman's throat.

Moving down to the base of her neck he paused. Botan could feel his hot breath brushing against her exposed and goose bump covered skin. He latched his mouth onto the spot where her neck and left shoulder met. There he licked and sucked on the one particular spot causing Botan to moan and thrash about. She felt him smirk against her skin then arched up a bit as he raked his fangs across the tender spot.

It was as if every nerve in her body had sprung to life with extreme sensitivity to his unnerving yet alluring actions. Her breath hitched as she sensed an extreme amount of his youki flare up around them. _Wh-what's he doing?!_ she panicked.

"_Botan..._" he half whispered, half growled, _"...you're **MINE!**_"

Magenta eyes tripled in size as Botan's mouth hung open in a silent scream. Hiei had just plunged his fangs into the tender circle he'd made at the juncture of her neck and shoulder. _H-He MARKED ME!!!_ Botan's mind kept screaming. Her only coherent thought echoed throughout the chambers of her dumbfounded mind as she lay paralyzed beneath him.

Taking advantage of her motionlessness he dug his sharp incisors in deeper. Blood flowed from her soft flesh in steady rivers and he greedily lapped it all up. This was something he'd felt driven to do. His mind had ceased to function. His conscience was completely gone. Right now he had one desire and one desire alone...

To make the ferry girl his: _mind_, _body_, and _soul_.

* * *

_Amanda/Artiste_: Ah the power of sleep deprivation! -- Zzz... O.O Oh! Who? What?! Um yeah...heh...that's all for this chapter. Review and let me know what ya think. Oh, no flames! Next Chapter: Will Hiei have his way with Botan? What will she think of him when this is over? Or...is it just beginning?! MWUHAHAHAHA!!! (cough) Okay...I'm going to bed now.


	3. Out of Lust or Love?

**A/N:** Your reviews have been wonderful, thanks! Sorry, sleep is essential to us fanfic writers. I'd love to email everyone whenever I update but I don't have the time. I hope you'll add me to your author's alert list if you're that into the story. I've got plenty of people on mine. : ) On with the fic!

_**Driven by Instinct, Guided to Love**_

_Chapter Three: Out of Lust or Love?_

Heavy panting was heard as the fire demon looming over the frightened ferry girl repeatedly lapped at the bleeding wound he'd left on the juncture of her neck and left shoulder. Every once in a while he would pause to transfer more of his youki into the bite mark or to dig his fangs back into the soft flesh, drawing out more of her delectable essence.

_A claiming mark..._Botan breathed_...he bit me and now we're mates._ This was completely unexpected to say the absolute least! Despite the unbelievable events that we're taking place the blue-haired woman tried to get a hold of herself. To assess the situation and think of some calm rational way to deal with it. _Forget calm and rational! I've got a fire demon with raging hormones ON TOP OF ME!!!_

With a contented sigh that sounded somewhere between a moan and a soft growl the half koorime allowed the wound to heal so that only a reddened scar remained. It was permanent so he hadn't anything to worry. Try as she might Botan would NEVER be able to make the scar fade. The truly remarkable thing about claiming marks was that they were life long. Nothing short of the marker's death could remove it. Even if by some cruel chance the area was burned or gouged it would reform once the skin grew back.

"My onna..." Hiei smiled triumphantly against her trembling chin, "...mine forever."

_He...doesn't sound like himself._ she realized, _It's almost like he's being driven to do this subconsciously or something. _

"Hiei!" she tried, "Please, stop this now! Don't you realize what you've done?!"

Looking up he placed a small bite on the edge of her jaw, "I know exactly what I've done koi. I've made you mine." Pushing himself forward with his elbows he tilted his head back and jerked the white scarf away.

Botan watched it fall to the floor, her bright magenta eyes widening when she felt most his weight momentarily lift off of her then saw his long black robe land on top of it. Looking up she gulped, noticing that Hiei had jerked the torn sleeve of his light blue top down over his shoulder exposing a rather suggestive area of his neck and left shoulder to the panicking female.

Smirking down at her with longing crimson eyes he repeated in an erotically husky tone, "I've made you mine onna. Now it's time you made me yours!"

Botan's irises and pupils nearly shrank out of existence upon hearing that. "H-Hiei! I-I...well you...you...can't just expect me to...what in the world?! I can't do THAT!"

Hiei's smirk rapidly turned into a snarling frown. "And why not?!" he snapped obviously displeased with her answer.

Sweating nervously Botan wracked her brain for an explanation that wouldn't get her throat ripped apart. "I-I just...well we were never that close and...Hiei don't kill me! I had NO IDEA that you liked me this way! Honestly I didn't, I swear!"

Leaning down so that his blazing red eyes and a few stray ebony strands of his bangs were all that the terrified woman could see he spoke; "Well now you know onna. I've always had a certain unexplainable fascination with you. For years I stayed back, trying to distance myself from you. But threatening you, demeaning you, scoffing and even throwing all of your incessant kindness and friendly efforts back in your face, nothing worked. And now..." he chuckled darkly, rather at himself or the ferry girl it was difficult to tell, "...now you've gone and worn me down. You've somehow slipped through my defenses and wormed your way into my very soul."

Her breaths became sharp and ragged. With each word he spoke the fire demon was drawing his mouth that much nearer to her own. The more aroused he became the stronger he grew. He had managed to grasp both her struggling arms in one hand. This left him a free hand which he ran down her side, sending shivers down her spine. By the time he'd finished his confession his free hand was tucked behind her head.

In a single fluid motion he grabbed the hair tie from her ponytail and slung it across the room, watching with hungry delight as her powder blue hair spilled over the lavender pillowcase and flowed like silken ribbons through his parted clawed fingers. "You're past my barriers now onna. An undeniable part of my soul. And I assure you," he chuckled again, "that once you're in, there's no way out."

Before she could utter a sound of surprise the fire demon had pressed his lips tightly against her own. The tender rows of pinkish flesh were already starting to bruise under his demanding onslaught. Forcefully he slid his tongue past her lips and ran it over the roof of her mouth, the inside of her cheeks, before finally finding her own tongue and waging an easy battle for dominance.

Botan was so shocked she couldn't think, couldn't see, couldn't breathe, couldn't do anything but lay there and feel...feel all that he was doing to her, feel the heat from his breath and the warmth of his tongue, and utterly helpless to resist.

His extreme lower abdomen was grinding against her body in highly suggestive ways. This caused a most embarrassing reaction for the already quivering ferry girl. She felt a heat develop far in the depths of her own body and shut her eyes tightly in a futile attempt to block out all that was going on around and within her.

_Hiei PLEASE don't do this! _she pleaded telepathically, _I know something's wrong. We'll fix this—somehow—you've just got to get a grip on yourself so we can work this out before it's too late!_

Fortunately for her Hiei's Jagan Eye had been active ever since his trip over to her apartment. Unfortunately for her, her pleas were falling on deaf ears. _Hn, baka onna, it's already too late. You're **mine** now, and before this night is over you** will** make me yours!_

With that they broke apart, Hiei giving 'his onna' time to breathe. As she gasped for air he watched her with confusion evident in his glowing scarlet eyes.

_I don't understand. Why won't she give in? Why won't she accept me as her mate?!_ the more he contemplated her outright refusal to mark him the angrier the short fire youkai became. _Perhaps...perhaps I simply haven't impressed her enough. I'll just have to prove to her that I'm a strong and suitable mate. Then she'll mark me and willingly bare my kodomo._

Botan watched breathlessly as some sort of inner debate took place in the hazed mind of the lusty black and white haired demon. With the Jagan Eye he possessed the ability to read her thoughts and send her telepathic messages and images. She only wished that she had such ability. At best all she could do was scream out a desperate thought in her mind and only hope that Hiei's Jagan Eye would pick it up. In this case it was easier for her to communicate with him because he had his third eye locked onto her mental wavelength.

"Hiei," she said softly, "I-I'm not sure what's come over you. But I promise to do my best to help." Trying to remain calm and focused as his blood red orbs centered in on her while she continued, "If...if you'd just let me up we could call Kurama or Koenma and-"

The ferry girl screamed out in pain when Hiei's clawed fingers suddenly tightened around her pinned wrists. His crimson eyes blazed with intense fury and a deep throated growl echoed off the walls. "Leave the kitsune and the thumb-sucking brat OUT OF THIS!"

Hiei's warning and harsh reaction alarmed Botan greatly, he'd never been a stranger to threatening but he'd never taken it **this** far before! "H-Hiei I'm sorry!"

His heart wrenched when her saw her cringe and turn her head away from him. Tears of fright spilled from her thick black lashes and ran over her pillowcase. Mentally cursing he found some small shred of his normal self. For a moment he was able to cling to his sanity. He actually felt remorse for scaring the 'baka onna' so badly.

Releasing her injured wrists he brought his hands to either side of her face and turned her head towards him. "Onna..." he wore an unusual pained expression, "...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I-I don't know what came over me."

In lieu of a response she stared at him a few brief seconds then hugged him close, burying her face against his chest, letting her head rest in the curve of his neck, and sobbed piteously.

_Hiei you baka youkai!_ he berated himself; _See what you've done now! You've made the ferry onna cry! What was I thinking?!_

Her tears subsided sooner than he'd expected and she pulled away with a reddened, tear-stained face. He gingerly wiped her eyes dry with his finger feeling awful about being the cause of her sorrow.

Sniffling a bit now she managed to give him a small smile. "Thanks Hiei, I'm so grateful you came back to your senses."

"Hn, don't thank me onna," he frowned, looking down at her collar bone, "I was the one who got you this upset. I was the one who lost my temper, tackled you, and..."

She stiffened as his gaze traveled up along her collar bone right to the juncture between her neck and shoulder. She felt his fingers softly brush against the claiming mark. The seriousness of what had just happened loomed over them both like a dark foreboding storm cloud. This wasn't over, the mark was there now. It was a permanent reminder of what had just happened. It would tempt the eager fire demon to no end. His youki emanated from the area as an announcement to all that Botan was his.

"Baka onna," he murmured, "you should've hit me."

"I would have," Botan admitted with downcast eyes, "but, my bat was under my pillow and you had my wrists pinned above my head."

Hiei snatched her hands and scanned her bruised wrists with increasing guilt. He had hurt her, marked her, doomed her. "Botan..."

Her eyes widened, "What?"

Meeting her gaze he muttered, "Botan...I-I swear, I had no control over this. It was, I completely lost myself to my youkai desires I-"

"You, said my name." she beamed.

Hiei looked a bit taken aback that she was so amazed by such a simple acknowledgement. "Uh....yes, Botan. Isn't that what the detective and the other girls are always calling you?"

Oh great, now he had gotten her name wrong! And on his very first time of calling it to her face! Wait...that was it! "Botan," he repeated, this WAS the first time that he'd ever used it when speaking to her! That must have been why she was so overjoyed! Hn, human girls sure were easy to please.

Before another word could be exchanged a loud beeping noise arose from the right pocket of Botan's black over shirt.

"Um," the ferry girl blushed, "do you mind? I—uh—have to take this call."

His own cheeks reddening Hiei fake coughed and pushed himself off of her. Scooting to the far end of the bed so that he wouldn't be seen by the caller he watched as Botan sat up at the headboard then flipped open her communication mirror.

"Um, hello Koenma sir," she greeted really playing up the cheer and tugging her collar up near her neck so that her boss wouldn't see the claiming mark. She heard a faint growl from Hiei but he quickly turned away with a blush when she glanced over her shoulder.

"Ah Botan! There you are!" Koenma exclaimed, "I was trying to catch you before you left Reikai but I guess you were afraid of putting in more overtime with these darn cases. Can't say I blame you, the paperwork here is murder!"

"Ahaha...yes Lord Koenma sir, is there something you needed to tell me?" she asked, growing nervous when she noticed Hiei staring intently at her from the far corner of the bed. His scarlet orbs were starting to get that unnerving, hazed over look from before.

"Well yes actually," the tiny ruler continued, "it seems we've got a bit of a situation on our hands here. And the problem lies in our own ranks if you can believe that!"

"Koenma sir, enough with the small talk. Can't we just cut to the chase?!" Botan hastily inquired while trying to maintain her cheerful façade. Hiei's breathing had become a bit erratic as he turned his upper body to fully face her now. She could almost swear she saw a bit of drool spill over his bottom lip. That unexplainable fire below her waist was starting to flare up again as well, signaling to her that things were about to get 'complicated' again very soon...

Eyeing the ferry girl suspiciously for a moment the bureaucratic ruler of Reikai finally shrugged it off and continued, "It's like this: since the beginning of the Koorime race, ice maidens have always borne twin girls on their hundredth birthday. It's sort of their individual mating season—only—without the mating. And Ayame has recently come across a rather disturbing bit of information on our friend Hiei, the **_half_** koorime."

Gulping Botan already had a pretty good idea of what her ferry girl friend had found. She desperately swatted the frustrated youkai's hand away. He seemed intent on pulling the black collar away from her claiming mark. Luckily she managed to keep him off screen. "S-so Koenma, don't keep me in suspense. W-what did you find out?"

Leaning closer to his screen Koenma's eyes narrowed into thin slits as his young countenance took on a serious, secretive air. "Hiei, as it turns out, is ninety-nine years of age."

Botan let out a yelp when one of Hiei' clawed hands crept up and gave her right breast a rather tight squeeze. Fortunately Koenma only had a shoulders up view of the panicking girl.

"Um Botan..." Koenma arched an eyebrow, "is everything okay? You're behaving rather strangely today."

"Oh n-nothing's wrong Koenma sir. OW!" poor Botan tried desperately to keep up the normalcy act while prying a certain horny fire demon's sharp claws away from her chest. "E-everything's just peachy here. I'm here, alone, just resting and—EEP!! That's it!"

_**WHAP!!!**_

Koenma winced at the loud slap that resounded over the communicator. "Uh Botan?"

"FINE!" she flashed a triumphant tooth revealing grin. "Everything's just fine on this end sir. Now what was it you were going to say?"

Tugging at his collar Koenma decided he would never understand girls, especially not bubbly ferry girls like Botan. "Well to make a long story short, Hiei will be driven by his koorime instincts to create offspring on his hundredth birthday. And since he is a male and does not possess the ability to reproduce asexually he will most likely seek out a mate and obtain children through her."

The ruler of Spirit World watched in stupor as the image of the blue-haired ferry girl on his screen started to twitch and whimper. This was getting weird.

"Y-you don't say...hundredth birthday huh?" Botan stammered, well THIS explained a lot. "And when exactly is Hiei's next birthday?"

Sighing Koenma replied, "Just two short days from now I'm afraid."

"O-oh, how nice. I'll have to remember to get him a card." and with that she promptly fainted.

Koenma fell out of his chair when he saw two running sneakers fly up into view. _FAINTED?! What on Earth would make her do a thing like that?!_

As the pint sized toddler struggled back up into his large swirling desk chair he was greeted by the sound of deep menacing laughter. He'd heard that laugh somewhere before...

Mahogany eyes tripling in size Koenma began to panic, "H-HIEI?! What the heck are _YOU_ doing in **Botan's** apartment?!"

A smug reply came through the increasing static and fuzz. "Hn, I just thought I'd celebrate my birthday early."

With that the connection was severed leaving Koenma staring at a blank screen. His left eyebrow twitching and his pacifier rolling about on his desk having falling from his dropped jaw. _Oh boy, I'm in trouble for this one!_

* * *

Somewhere in the middle of the Yusuke's hometown...

"Hehe...I'm so glad you agreed to come spend the day with me my little snow bunny!" an orange-haired young man exclaimed.

He was happily following a green-haired beauty down the sidewalk while carting a large pile of boxes with shopping bags hanging from either arm.

"Oh it was very nice of you to invite me Kazuma," Yukina turned and smiled warmly at him. This made the man melt into a pile of mush; there wasn't anything he wouldn't do to be the object of her attention.

"Well nothing's too good for my girl." he boasted, "Nope; nothing makes me feel better than treatin' my ice queen to a day on the town."

Just before she turned back around he caught a faint glimpse of a worried frown etched upon her usually bright and optimistic features.

"Hey, Yukina my sweet, what's wrong?" he inquired, increasing his pace so that he was walking right beside her now.

"Oh I'm sorry Kazuma," she tried to plaster on the smile again, "I am happy to be here with you. It's just—well—I'm afraid I've had a lot on my mind lately."

"Like what?" Kuwabara persisted.

Looking away with a shameful expression she stopped to stare at her reflection in a shop window. "I don't know Kazuma....I-"

"Aw c'mon baby!" he begged, "There's nothing you can't tell your super strong lover boy hero!"

Giggling slightly at his antics she resumed her walk back to the side street where her companion had parked. It was a short distance and when they arrived Kuwabara quickly shuffled the merchandise around in his arms so that he could unlock and open the passenger's door for Yukina. With a small bow she thanked him and sat down buckling her seat belt while he put the items in the trunk.

_He's been so nice to me._ she thought as she watched him in the rearview mirror. He had managed to organize all the bags and packages so that they'd fit in the trunk yet he couldn't get the lid to stay shut. _I-I'm not sure why but I really feel bad having to tell him that in just two short days I'll be a mother-to-be and he'll...will he still want to spend so much time with me?_

A solitary tear trailed down her cheek and fell to the floorboard as she contemplated the possibility of losing her dearest friend in the world because of her koorime heritage. She would have to reproduce, it wasn't her choice. Her body would do exactly what it was made to do, bare children, female twins. She felt so helpless and alone...none of the others had any children yet. Even Keiko and Yusuke weren't expecting. Of course they'd only been married for about half a year and according to what she'd learned of humans that wasn't too long not to bear young.

The sound of a car door opening and closing snapped her attention back to her outing with Kazuma. Sitting up straight she flashed him a grin then focused her eyes straight ahead waiting for the car to be started.

After a few moments of remaining motionless her gaze traveled curiously to her companion. Kuwabara was staring her floorboard. Looking down she gasped. There—at her feet—was a glaringly obvious telltale sign that she had been crying.

_Curse these tear gems!_ she thought.

"Yukina," Kuwabara began softly, moving to place a hand over her shoulder, "if something's wrong, please tell me. I can't stand to see you so unhappy."

Struggling to hold back tears she buried her face in her hands. "Oh Kazuma! I want to tell you! I really do! But—but I'm afraid! I'm afraid that you won't want to be with me anymore if you find out..."

"Find out what?!" Kuwabara asked alarmed, he was terrified that she was going to say that she had some incurable life-threatening disease, or that she would have to go away forever back to the floating island, or that..._Oh no! She's got a boyfriend?!_

"...that I'm...going to be a mother!" she finished with a heavy sob.

The orange-haired man's eyes nearly popped completely out of his head. _A mother? Well...that's really kinda worse than already having a boyfriend. Wonder who the father's supposed to be?_

Despite this crushing blow he still felt obligated to comfort his coveted ice maiden. "Yukina, it's...okay. I-I understand."

"You do?" she asked hopefully as he gently patted her shoulder.

He nodded, "Yeah."

Her mood instantly brightened and she leaned over, wrapping her arms around his neck. Her crimson eyes shone with unbridled joy. "Kazuma! I'm so glad! I was so foolish not to tell you sooner!"

Smiling sadly he spoke in what he hoped was a supportive tone, "Aw, ya know ya can always tell me anything. B-But," he removed his hand from her back and balled it into a tight fist, "if he ever hurts you, and I mean EVER, I swear I'll make him BEG for death!"

"Huh?" Yukina pulled away and stared up at him in confusion, "What are you talking about Kazuma? Him who?"

"Ya know, that guy that you...um...the one whose kids you're havin'." he blushed at having to explain.

She tried to hold it in, she really did, but poor sweet Yukina couldn't help but burst into laughter at Kuwabara's naivety concerning Koorime.

Now it was Kuwabara's turn to be baffled. "Um, hey! Yukina I'm glad you're not crying anymore or anything but you really should be takin' this whole mom thing a bit more seriously."

"Ka-Kazuma!" she squealed between bouts of laughter, "I-I'm SORRY!" tears were rolling down her face as she thought of what she would have to explain. "I-I'm not having any man's baby!"

Kuwabara raised an eyebrow. _Uh...nope! Don't even go there Kazuma!_ his sister's voice threatened in his mind...it may have been his conscience but it sounded an awful lot like his big sister.

Wiping her eyes with the sleeves of her sweater she continued, "I'm a Koorime right?"

"Right..." he nodded slowly.

"Well, hehe, Koorime don't mate and um...reproduce the way humans and even most demons do." she managed.

"Okay..."

"In fact, we kind of have offspring all on our own. Twin girls, on our hundredth birthday." she only hoped this was sinking in.

Kuwabara stared at her silently, blinking a few times, trying to digest this new information. "So...you're sayin' that on your next birthday you're gonna make your own babies?"

"Yep." she nodded, happy that she wouldn't have to go through this again.

"And you'll get pregnant all on your own?!" he seemed utterly dumbfounded by this.

"Mm-hmm." she blushed a bit embarrassed. Maybe she _would_ have to explain again.

"..._whoa_." he gasped.

Sweat dropping Yukina tried to keep smiling while she attempted to decipher what was going on in that strange head of his.

Finally he spoke, clasping both her hands in his. "Never fear my love! For I—Kazuma Kuwabara—man of honor, huge muscles, and integrity shall volunteer myself as devoted husband to you and loving father to our children!"

Now it was Yukina who wore the look of complete shock. "W-what?"

"That's right my angel!" he continued, "You won't have to raise those darling girls alone. I promise to remain by your side and give them a father and all the wonderful luxuries they deserve!"

"That's very kind of you Kazuma but-"

"And I'll do it all, because of my undying love for you my sweet." he finished grandly with a bow.

_Oh my goodness_, she wondered, _is he serious?!_

* * *

_Amanda/Artiste_: Once again, please review. The power of sleep deprivation compels me to keep writing when inspired and then sleep follows cause my creative mind is FINALLY worn out enough to rest. FYI there _WILL_ be a **LEMON** next chapter! Plus, Kuwabara has just two days to prove to Yukina that he's serious about the whole "_devoted husband and loving father"_ thing. Will he succeed? And what's a knee-high ruler to do? Why call in someone else to handle the problem of course! That's all next time on Yu Yu Hakusho (fanfiction chapter)!


	4. The Mating Frenzy!

**A/N:** Thank you for your reviews! I will be tossing a LEMON in this chapter. Hope you'll enjoy it. There just aren't enough of H/B lemon scenes out there. LOL, I'm making my small contribution to the cause. And to answer a question: I collected my information about koorime reproduction from different Yu Yu Hakusho sites, many centered on Yukina. So what I've read said they have twin girls every 100 years (one said they only reproduce once a lifetime though so I assumed it was only on their 100th birthday). And from what I understand koorime have live birth meaning they do get pregnant. Again, I'm assuming that they conceive the twins on their 100th birthday and then carry them to term (for the sake of simplicity I'm going to make it nine months). Yes Botan will be paired with Hiei. And as for if ferry girls get maternity leave...I guess we'll find out. Excellent questions, hope that answered everything.

_**Driven by Instinct, Guided to Love**_

_Chapter Four: The Mating Frenzy!_

It was sometime in the early morning hours, just before the sun made its routine ascendance into the pastel colored sky. The city was peaceful; most of its residents still lay fast asleep in their beds. In an apartment complex well into a nice middle class section of town the occupant of apartment 260B was slumbering soundly on her soft bed.

The soft hum of sparse traffic drifted to her ears. The pale gleam of a few faint moon beams lit the darkness created by her resting eyes. The cool night breeze blew gentle gusts of wind through her slightly opened window.

_Brr..._

And caused a few chill bumps to appear over her bare skin.

_Wait a minute..._ Botan's brow furrowed in confusion _...BARE SKIN?!_

Shooting upwards she sent the dampened rag on her forehead flying across the room and right smack into her watcher's face.

Bright magenta eyes were open wide in surprise while she felt around for her comforter to try and cover her nakedness from the distracted stranger's view.

She would've found it a lot faster if she hadn't been trying to cover all her 'private' regions with her left arm. Glancing down she finally noticed that her comforter had been pulled down and lie in a heap at the foot of her bed. Her sheets were tucked tightly around the rim of the mattress.

_Botan you neat freak!_ she scolded herself; _This'll teach you to obsess over making your bed!_

An irritated growl brought her attention back to the solitary figure lurking in the shadows opposite her bed. She watched as he grabbed the wet cloth, yanked it off his face, and then slung it to the floor.

A small gasp escaped her lips as she noticed two violent red glowing eyes leering back at her. She knew of only one youkai with such a piercing stare. "...Hiei?"

He answered her with a deep throated growl.

Shaking a bit she tried to recall everything that had just happened. _Okay...okay...calm down Botan ol' girl. Things can't be as bad as they seem right now. Gotta think...okay, I was in my apartment grumbling into my pillow when Hiei showed up. Then I taunted him about having a crush (who turned out to be me!) and he got mad and tackled me. There was that—ahem—unexpected close call on my bed. Then I remember Koenma calling to give me the 'news flash' about Hiei's 'condition'._

She gulped. !

"_Hiei will be driven by his koorime instincts to create offspring on his hundredth birthday. And since he is a male and does not possess the ability to reproduce asexually he will most likely seek out a mate and obtain children through her."_

_I-I can't be a mother! _she thought on the verge of a panic attack. _And-and ME baring HIEI'S children?! Little Hiei Jaganeshis running amuck all over the three worlds!!_

A smirk spread over Hiei's stoic features when his Jagan Eye caught a glimpse of Botan's most recent mental image. _Yusuke would quit, the oaf would die of a heart attack, and that fool Koenma would cry like a baby._

This having kids stuff was sounding better to him all the time!

"H-Hiei," a tentative voice called his focus back to the present.

"Hn?" he asked, locking eyes with his mate.

Futilely trying to cover her exposed body with her arms the ferry girl did her best to handle things with a level head. "W-What happened to my clothes?"

"I removed them." came his simple reply.

A deep crimson blush spread over her cheeks. "Y-you what?! And just who gave you permission to undress me?!"

Crossing his arms he leaned against her desk chair. "Baka onna, I don't **need** anyone's _permission_ to undress you. You're **my** mate."

_H-How can he say all that with a straight face?!_ she twitched. "Hiei...WHY did you undress me?!"

Shivering a bit in anticipation of a dark and lustful answer she gripped her body tighter. Just how long had he been standing there? Staring hungrily at her naked body? And...and had undressing her been the **_extent_** of his actions?!

"You fainted," he explained, "that baka boss of yours ran his mouth about my hormones and you didn't take it very well."

"Oh," Botan was about to sigh in relief but had her relaxed mood cut short when Hiei suddenly disappeared from his spot against her desk chair and just as suddenly reappeared leaning over the foot of her bed.

**_(Things are gonna heat up from this point. _Lemon_ warning coming soon!)_**

His scarlet eyes were drinking in every inch of her body. She nervously chewed on her bottom lip as he ran a hand under her chin and let it trail down over her chest. He stopped when she refused to move her arms.

"I undressed you for two reasons. One, because you were hot to the touch after you passed out. I needed to cool you down." he grinned seductively, "But now that you're feeling better, I can move on to my second reason for ridding you of those bothersome ningen garments."

Crossing her legs and moving her spare arm behind her she pushed herself backwards as he crawled forwards. Something was very peculiar about his behavior now. A wild and dangerous new energy was beginning to show through his aura.

"And that is-" he chuckled darkly as several less powerful copies of his Jagan Eye opened up all over his increasingly muscular body "-to fulfill my instinctive desires!"

He reached out again only his claws were definitely much sharper and his skin tinted green. His black and white hair jutted out on each side giving him a truly demonic appearance. This was Hiei's truest form. She had only seen it once and heard tell of him taking it again during the Netherworld's attack. Needless to say, if Hiei grew desperate enough to transform, he was dead serious about getting his way.

"Wait...HIEI?!" she screamed more so out of shock than pain as he pounced, knocking her back flat on the mattress and straddling her...deja vu.

"I've waited long enough onna," he declared in a voice much raspier and less nonchalant that his usual tone. Yellow eyes shone blood red with desire. "I'm one day away from having lived a full century. No doubt in human years you're much older than me." he bent down and placed small bites along her jaw bone working his way up to her ear. "So it's a good thing we demons don't measure age the way you humans do."

_Age...age...AGE!_ Botan's face lit up when she thought she'd found a way to make Hiei second guess his actions. "Hiei! If-if you and I both mark each other then my human body will start to age. I can't very well get pregnant AND keep my eternal youth. There had to be a catch somewhere to getting my own body again you know?"

_Of course technically sense I'm already dead and a ferry girl of Reikai my body would age somewhere between the rate of ningens and youkai._ she mused then realized too late her mistake when the fire demon above her started to laugh.

"I heard that onna," he chided leaning down so that his glowing Jagan Eye was in plain view, "you shouldn't try to trick me. I know your every thought, your every desire. And right now, the thing you desire most...is **_me_**."

Swallowing hard she started frantically struggling against his hold. His previously outstretched hand had once again managed to snatch both her wrists and keep them pinned above her head. His free hand was feeling up her breasts. She felt like rolling her eyes in remembrance of the communicator conversation with the dense ruler of Reikai.

She shut her eyes tightly against the oddly pleasurable sensation of Hiei raking his tongue across her ear. This combined with his attentions to her breasts and the rapid thrusting movements of his pelvis against her lower half were beginning to drive the beleaguered ferry girl wild. Oblivious as to what the hell had come over her she simply lay still and try to block out all that was happening to her.

That inexplicable fire in her lower abdomen was blazing out of control. Her body...his body...she wanted something...needed him...to...to what?!

_BOTAN!_ she scolded herself, _Y-you can't be serious! You can't do this! You KNOW you can't do this! Hiei will be furious when tomorrow has passed and he realizes what I let him do. I-I have to get out of here..._

Bucking and jerking about in various directions she attempted to free herself of the lustful demon's grasp. As if he wasn't strong enough before, in his full demon form he was near unstoppable! Even Yusuke couldn't beat him alone before...not without the unexpected help from Kurama. Well, there was no Kurama here, no Yusuke either. Heck, at this point she'd be happy for a little blue Puu!

"Hiei!" she moaned piteously as his hand left her breasts and went straight for his metal belts. He quickly tugged away at the restraints, desperate to rid himself of the baggy black pants he was wearing. They just so happened to be the only article of clothing he still had on. Even his boots had been kicked aside some time after Botan had lost consciousness. _He must've been planning this while I was recovering._

"Botan..." he murmured, bending back down and pressing his lips firmly against hers.

That was it! He was doing IT again! Using her name, making her heart race, turning her knees to quivering masses of gelatin!

Opening her eyes to look up into his she blushed the deepest hue of red imaginable when she noticed that Hiei—just like herself—was now completely nude.

Dropping her head back down on the pillow she panted heavily. _I don't believe it. H-he's...GORGEOUS! I mean...who knew that under all those layers of dark bulky clothes he was hiding such a handsome...oh my gosh! NO! No Botan! You can't start thinking such thoughts! You're a ferry girl for crying out loud! Set an example!!_

Subconsciously she tilted her head upwards and her bright magenta orbs wondered back to Hiei's glistening and well sculpted body. Giving a startled and self reprimanding "EEP!" she jerked her head back down again, her whole body turning red when she heard Hiei's prideful snickers.

He was grinding against her while she whimpered and fidgeted about. Teasing her, he was going to make her BEG to be taken.

_Figures he would pull a stunt like this with me._ she growled, _That stubborn youkai is determined to find a way to torture me no matter what the situation!_

"What's wrong onna?" a raspy, malevolent voice inquired from above her. "Are you ready to claim me now?"

_CLAIM YOU?!_ she exclaimed telepathically. She didn't trust herself to speak; her body was already betraying her enough without the use of words. _Do you know what that would DO?! It would strengthen MY bite mark! Making the bond stronger! We'd never find a way out of this then! It may already be too late NOW!!_

Smirking against her sensitive skin he trailed kisses down her neck and up the side of her collar bone. He didn't stop until he'd reached the claiming mark. The scar was more visible than ever and completely radiating with his youki. This fanned his lust from a blazing flame to a raging inferno.

"AAAHH!!!" she shrieked as he plunged his fangs into the wound and brought forth fresh blood. If she had managed to wiggle even just one hand free she would've used it to poke out every single one of his dozens of eyes for that. The pain was immense and she felt hot tears spill forth and stream down her cheeks.

Hiei paused from sucking on the bleeding wound when he smelled the tears. Ripping himself away from his claim to her long enough to lick away the tears he whispered gently, "Mark me onna. Once you fulfill my one desire I'll devote my full attention to satisfying all of yours."

His otherworldly tone sent thrilling shivers racing down her spine. Oh how she longed to see him fulfill his love-crazed promise. Her mind was made up for her when he sent her telepathic images of him doing just that.

_That's it! _she told herself, _Hiei will just have to berate me for my weakness. Hell I don't care if he kills me! I'm just so sick of him taunting me!!!_

Letting out a loud frustrated growl she flung her arms around his neck the minute he pushed himself up on his elbows and yanked the cocky little demon's face down parallel with her own.

"This is absolutely the LAST time I'm going to let you win Hiei!" she announced before tilting her head and biting down hard on the juncture between his neck and left shoulder.

Demon flesh was particularly harder to penetrate than human flesh but Botan would be damned before she'd give Hiei the satisfaction of watching her have to try more than once to claim him.

With extreme vigor she sank her teeth into the green tinted flesh smirking to herself when she heard Hiei hiss in pain. _Take THAT Mr. Ningens-Are-Such-Weak-and-Pathetic-Creatures!_

While Hiei had managed to drive his incisors much farther into her flesh than she had managed to pierce him she still felt an overwhelming since of pride when bursts of inky red and purple blood spilled into her mouth.

Unsure of what the heck to do at this point (it's not like she had a PhD in demonic mating rituals) she thought back to Hiei's obsession with lapping up the blood from her wound and swallowed.

_I'm going to be so sick in the morning._ she realized. Ningen stomachs were not made for the consumption of youkai blood.

Nevertheless she repeated the action until the wound ceased to bleed. A bright fuchsia glow surrounded her body and she watched captivated as it began channeling itself into the wound.

_Is that...my spirit energy?_ she wondered. It did seem like a logical occurrence given what had happened with Hiei's youki. Her fascination was short lived when a sudden dizzy spell forced her to lie back.

Looking up she saw Hiei gazing back down at her with widened eyes, no longer glowing crimson red but back to their soft yellow hue. Small red irises shrank a bit as his features relaxed into a look of contentment and...pride? Was he _proud_ of her?

"Botan," he smiled, a genuine smile, "koibito."

She returned his smile and watched happily as his form shifted back to normal. The extra eyes closed and faded and his skin resumed its light shade of tan. She giggled when his hair didn't resume normal form and instead jutted out in all directions making it look like a skunk had just exploded on his head.

"What?" he asked slyly.

Shaking her head she reached up and ran her fingers through his hair. Her other hand was still resting at the base of his neck. With a sly grin of her own she pulled him down towards her and initiated a passionate kiss.

His eagerness to deepen the kiss surprised her. Could this truly be the real Hiei back in control? Or did his primal side remain even though his truer form had faded?

Reluctantly pulling back she stared him in the eyes. "Hiei," she spoke to the bewildered demon, "are you..._you_...again?"

Realizing what she meant he smirked and moved in for another kiss. "Hn, baka onna, who else did you think was going to make love to you?"

When he'd finished probing her mouth with his tongue for a second time he lifted himself back up onto his elbows and gazed down in contented amusement at his blushing mate.

"So..." she began nervously, "...you are going to keep your promise?"

"My word is something I take very seriously Botan." he informed her earnestly.

"Oh," she shifted slightly beneath him, wishing she knew how he truly felt about her now, "well you don't have to. I mean-"

She stopped when he abruptly laid a finger over her mouth. "This is one promise I'm going to **enjoy** keeping."

**_(...Warning: _Lemon_. Scroll down to next announcement if you don't like these!...)_**

Before she could utter another syllable her mouth was covered by his. He plunged his tongue back into her moist cavern and moaned as he came into contact with her tongue. They wrestled for dominance, Botan not really caring if he won, just dying to intensify the kiss.

Never had she imagined herself with Hiei. He'd always seemed so cold towards her. The human race in general seemed to particularly disgust him. She supposed it had all been some sort of act all along. Just a way to keep everyone at a distance. If he'd truly despised humans as much as he'd claimed then he would've left Yusuke to die or better yet, killed the young spirit detective himself. After all, he would've had the whole 'revenge' excuse. Not that that would've made Koenma go any easier on him when it came to punishment.

Her thoughts were scattered when she felt his clawed fingers rubbing circles along her inner thighs. She hadn't even noticed how her hands instinctively and almost expertly had started to roam his perfect form. Everything they did seemed rehearsed to perfection now. Each erotic movement was flawless and elicited the desired effect upon the other.

With the window still open the early morning breeze was free to continually waft in and sweep their hair or fan their sweating bodies. The gradually growing hum of traffic was easily drowned out by the pleasure-filled moans and fervent cries of the two mating figures cloaked in the shadows of the bedroom.

His administrations grew faster and more intense with each second. She knew what was coming, knew it would hurt, knew it would mark something permanent and wonderful in both their lives, and she happily embraced the pain.

A scream of agony echoed off the dimly lit bedroom walls as Hiei thrust into the anticipating blue-haired ferry girl beneath him. He froze, waiting for her to adjust. It seemed unthinkable to cause her an ounce more pain than absolutely necessary.

Finally after a few ragged breaths and poorly suppressed groans she nodded for him to proceed. Slowly he began moving in and out of her. Never taking his eyes off her flushed face. Her eyelids drooped when he managed to hit a particular spot within her. Strong sensations of pleasure swept over her trembling form. She prayed he would hit it again and—to her extreme delight—he did.

Her cries of ecstasy filled the room and rang in his ears like a sweet enticing melody. She was screaming for more, for him to move faster, to drive her past the brink of her sanity and plunge with her into unbridled erotic euphoria.

So THIS was a youkai mating ritual. Heck, she could definitely get used to this. She only hoped her mind didn't snap before the best part. She wanted to be fully aware of what was happening when he reached his breaking point. She wanted to see the great Hiei Jaganeshi overcome with bliss. Wanted to see him grin down at her before collapsing in an exhausted heap over her panting form. Damn, his primal urges must have been transferred along with his youki into her bite mark.

"Hiei...!" she moaned again in a voice so full of need and affection he thought he'd lose himself right then and there.

"Botan...!" he growled softly. His climax was near, the ritual was nearing completion. Soon he'd have a mate AND kodomo.

Staring intently into his mesmerizing crimson eyes she sensed the end nearing too. Oh well, it wasn't as though it was the last time that they would get to do this. She'd personally see to that if need be. What? Ferry girl or not she was a woman, a thousand plus years abstinent, she'd earned the right to be a bit lusty when it came to her enticing little half koorime koi.

With a loud cry of "BOTAN!!!" he came into her awaiting vessel. Her back arched as she caught a brief glimpse of the one mental image she had longed to see, the one that would last her a lifetime. Hiei...her tormentor, her enigma, her ally, her mate...helplessly and hopelessly in love with her.

**_(End of first lemon!)_**

He hovered above her a moment gazing down with emotion-filled pools of dark red. Finally the last of his strength gave out and he slumped down on top of her listless form. Botan lay there panting; watching as Hiei's ragged breaths slowed then deepened.

Smiling at how easily sleep had come to her beloved fire youkai she decided to embrace it herself. Glancing over at her digital alarm clock she laughed inwardly, realizing she would be late for work.

A soft murmur caught her attention. Hiei's head twitched slightly as he stirred in his sleep. "Botan...I love you."

Smiling with happy tears welling up above her bottom lashes she wrapped her arms tightly around the fire demon and hugged him close. _I'm sure Koenma can get along just fine without me for one day._

Hiei's grip tightened, his arms already buried under her resting form, holding her close, protective of his new family even in sleep.

"Hiei," she whispered, lazily moving a hand to brush the bangs from his brow she planted a tender kiss on his forehead, where the concealed Jagan Eye was embedded, "I love you too."

* * *

Yusuke and Kurama were rushing up the stairs of Botan's apartment complex. Just two floors away from her home. Kuwabara was nowhere to be found so they had simply come without him. After all, Hiei was about to **MATE** with Botan, this was an emergency!

_...Flashback..._

_The communication mirror sat beeping on the nightstand beside the snoozing spirit detective. It had been going off for a good five minutes and yet the black haired young man simply tossed about in his sleep muttering incoherent comments to no one in particular._

"_Hm...mmm...wha?" he yawned. "Go away Koenma you brat...I'm not tucking you in."_

_The brunette beside him awoke, annoyed by a loud beeping noise interrupting her dream. Sitting up on her elbows she looked around and spotted the communication mirror. "Yusuke," she whispered then shook his shoulder gently, "Yusuke!"_

"_Keiko?" he blurted out groggily, "Not again Keiko. Sheesh I'm not a machine!"_

_Blushing a deep pink she shut her eyes and growled as her eyebrow started to twitch. "Yusuke you jerk! Even in sleep you're a total pervert!!"_

_**SLAP!!!**_

"_AAAHH!!! HEY!" Yusuke awoke to a powerhouse slap from his annoyed wife._

_Glaring at her and gingerly rubbing the red handprint on his cheek he climbed back into bed. "What the heck was THAT for?!"_

"_You're a real baka Yusuke." Keiko stated matter-of-factly, "You know that right?"_

"_Huh?"_

_Rolling her eyes she pointed past him to the nightstand, "That communicator's been going off for quite a while now. Over your mumbling I barely heard it. Koenma's not going to be very happy with you."_

"_Gripe gripe gripe..." Yusuke grumbled reaching over to pick up the device, "That's all anybody ever does around me!"_

_Flipping open the communicator he was hardly surprised to be greeted by a toddler's face with a giant light blue pacifier bobbing up and down. "Yeah what do you want? Some of us were trying to get some sleep ya know?"_

"_YUSUKE!" Koenma shouted, "YOU'D SLEEP THROUGH A LINE OF TEN HURRICANES PROCEEDED BY A SONIC BOOM!!!"_

"_Whatever," the detective yawned, "so, have ya got something important to say or did you just want someone to read you a bedtime story?"_

_Growling at Yusuke's typical lack of respect for authority the tiny ruler exclaimed, "This is serious Yusuke! I think Botan may be in real danger!!"_

"_Botan's in trouble?" Yusuke arched an eyebrow._

"_Oh my!" Keiko gasped._

_Moving around to see who had made the noise Koenma spotted Keiko over Yusuke's shoulder. "Oh, hi Keiko! It's me, the great and powerful King Koenma! I'm glad you're awake. Without your help Rip Van Winkle here would probably still be stumbling through dreamland!"_

"_Ha ha," Yusuke said sarcastically, "can we skip the pleasantries and get on with the message. You said Botan was in trouble, what's wrong?"_

_Turning serious again the brown eyed youth explained, "Well it's a rather touchy subject. Let's just say that if you don't get over to her apartment soon you two won't be the only 'happy couple' in the group."_

"_What?!" both Urameshis shouted._

_Rubbing a pinky in his ear Koenma winced, "Please don't shout directly into the receiver."_

"_What do ya mean 'happy couple'?!" Yusuke demanded, this was getting freakin' weird. "Just what the heck is going on here?!"_

_Tugging at his collar Koenma prepared to tell yet another person some very private details about Hiei's mating instincts._ _'Oh boy, if Botan doesn't beam me with her oar that temperamental fire demon will roast me for sure!'_

"_Well?!"_

"_Okay! Okay! It's like this...Hiei is part koorime therefore he is subject to certain instinctive behaviors passed down through the species for generations! He'll be turning 100 tomorrow and since the ice maidens reproduce at that time in their lives he'll be driven to as well." Koenma blurted out._

_Yusuke and Keiko stared wide eyed and disbelieving._

"_It's true!" the Reikai king insisted, "Look, koorime reproduce asexually. But Hiei isn't exactly built for that sort of thing. So he **must** find a mate in order to obtain offspring."_

"_S-so what does this have to do with Botan?" Keiko inquired nervously._

_Sighing Koenma responded, "Well, I have good reason to believe that Botan is the mate he's been seeking."_

"_WHAT?!" Yusuke fell into a fit of laughter. "Y-you think BOTAN is the girl HIEI wants to spend the rest of his life with?! To...HAHAHA...have his CHILDREN?!"_

"_Yusuke!" Keiko snapped, embarrassed by his immaturity._

"_Keiko's right Yusuke," Koenma still possessed an air of complete urgency. "This is no laughing matter. When I spoke with Botan earlier I noticed she was acting quite strangely. She was communicating from her apartment at the time and when I told her of Hiei's 'situation' she reacted most peculiarly. Next thing I knew she'd fainted and Hiei's laughter was heard. Before the line went dead he said something about 'celebrating his birthday early'."_

"_That can't be good," Keiko gulped._

_Yusuke's laughter had abruptly ceased._ _'H-He's serious?! But Botan and Hiei? He better not have hurt her! Oh man, why do I always have to get involved in these awkward situations?!'_

"_Hurry Yusuke!" Koenma instructed, "I'll contact Kurama and have him meet you at the apartment complex. I'm afraid there's no time to lose."_

"_Right!" Yusuke nodded, "I don't think the world can handle any more Hieis running around, swinging toothpick sized swords and shooting out mini Dragon of the Darkness Flames."_

_...End Flashback..._

"Hurry Yusuke!" Kurama called, he was now nearly a flight ahead of him in the stairwell. Funny how the elevators always managed to be 'out of order' in times like these.

"Look I'm runnin' as fast as I can okay?!" the spirit detective snapped. "Why don't you just sprint up there and sprinkle some rose petals in the hall or something, ya could make them lead into a broom closet and buy us some time!"

Sweat dropping Kurama decided he really didn't want to know whether Yusuke was just being sarcastic or if he really thought such an obvious trick would work on Hiei.

Yusuke snickered imagining the ridiculous ploy.

_...Yusuke's Humorous Mental Picture..._

_The door to the broom closet rattled about violently on its hinges. A thoroughly pissed off fire demon with raging hormones pounded against it from inside._

"_DETECTIVE! FOX!! OPEN THIS DOOR NOW OR YOU'LL **BOTH** BE CARRIED OUT OF HERE IN URNS!!" the enraged fire youkai threatened._

"_Now Hiei," Botan scolded waving her finger reprimanding as if the demon could see it, "serves you right for trying to take advantage of an innocent ferry girl like me."_

"_You won't be so 'innocent' when I get done with you, baka onna." Hiei replied slyly._

_Kurama (who had taken a brief stroll down the hall and around the corner) came back carrying something sure to take care of the 'delicate situation'._

"_Oh good, you found it!" Botan cheered._

_Hiei grew silent, then nervous. "Found what?"_

"_Don't worry Hiei ol' buddy ol' pal," Yusuke laughed, "this'll take care of your little problem."_

_Before Hiei could make use of Jagan Eye the door to the closet was flung open revealing Yusuke and Kurama holding one those large mandatory fire hoses found on each floor._

"_Sorry Hiei," the redhead smiled apologetically, "but it's for your own good."_

_Barely able to gulp the fire demon screamed..._

"_**AAARRRGGGHHH!!!!!!**"_

_...as he was suddenly blasted by a high speed stream of ice cold water!_

_...End of Yusuke's Comical Daydream..._

Ignoring the mahogany eyed male's snickering the fox demon jerked open the door that led to Botan's floor and raced down the hall to apartment 260B. Yusuke followed suit and stood behind him as he knocked.

No answer.

He knocked again.

Still no answer.

Groaning uneasily the redhead took a few steps back and prepared to take drastic measures.

Yusuke regarded him curiously. "Hey, what are you-?"

Kurama's right leg shout out, delivering a swift kick to the door and knocking it in.

"Uh..." Yusuke sweat dropped, _Botan's gonna kill us._

Barging into the dwelling they rushed around, flinging open doors, searching for any signs of Botan or—worse yet—Hiei.

"Hey!" Yusuke called, "We forgot this one!"

"It must be the bedroom." Kurama surmised, "We'd best hurry, it's nearly dawn. There's no telling what Hiei might've done to her."

"Oh c'mon," Yusuke scoffed, "like it's hard to guess!"

Choosing not to acknowledge his remark Kurama turned the doorknob and slowly pushed the door open.

The room was shrouded in early morning shadows making it hard to see. Once their vision adjusted they stepped inside for a closer look.

Yusuke was about to take another step forward when Kurama held up his arm, halting him. Following the kitsune's unnerved gaze he saw the pair of sleeping figures lying on the bed. The one on the bottom was decidedly Botan, the few rays of sunlight that were just now pouring in through the barely open window played off the shining strands of her powder blue hair. So if that was Botan, then the dark haired guy lying sprawled out on top of her was...

"HOLY CRAP!" Yusuke slapped his hands over his eyes, "IT BURNS!!!"

Feeling a little queasy himself Kurama forced his feet to move so that he drew closer to the unconscious pair.

Jaw dropping Yusuke snapped, "Kurama! What the hell are you doing?!"

"I've got to check for something," the forest green eyed male replied. "It would be on their shoulders, at the upper left collar bone."

Yusuke watched bewildered as Kurama approached the nude couple. Luckily for Botan her—ahem—_lover's_ height (while short) was still enough to cover the more private areas of her body. Reaching out the fox tried to brush aside the hair that covered Botan's left shoulder. He sprang back startled when a low threatening growl emanated from the still sleeping Hiei.

Kurama and Yusuke exchanged uneasy glances before Kurama reluctantly moved to check Hiei instead.

_That guy just doesn't know when to quit!_ Yusuke told himself, _Guess he'll have to pull back a nub before he gets the hint._

Gently, as if removing a precious stone from a pressure sensitive pedestal, Kurama lifted Hiei's head up just enough so that his left shoulder was fully exposed. Both males gasped when they saw the scar there in the center of a faded gray bruise.

"Gross!" Yusuke gagged sticking out his tongue, "She bit him!"

Putting Hiei's head back down on the area between the ferry girl's neck and breasts Kurama smacked his forehead. "No! Don't you see? He's been claimed."

"He's been what?"

"Claimed." Kurama repeated. "It's a demon's way of marking his or her chosen mate. It's more permanent than a ningen wedding ring. And it's obvious from Hiei's reaction that Botan's been claimed as his mate already."

"So...we're too late?" Yusuke inquired.

"I'm afraid so." Kurama nodded.

"Well," Yusuke shrugged clasping his hands behind his head and casually strolling towards the door, "guess that means we can go home now."

"Yusuke!" Kurama scolded, "I can't believe you'd dismiss something this serious so easily. It's almost as if you don't care about them at all."

Feeling insulted the detective spun around angrily, "Hey! It's not like there's anything that either of us can do about this now! So unless you have some kind of really potent scar removal cream we're just gonna have to get the heck outta here and hope those two can get used to the whole husband and wife bit!"

"Normally I'd agree with you," Kurama replied calmly, "but I'm afraid that Hiei's instincts are responsible for this. His more primal side has temporarily taken control. What will happen when he wakes up himself again and realizes what he's done? And how do you think Botan will react to that?"

Sighing in defeat Yusuke trudged back over to the fox and looked down at the slumbering couple. "Fine, we'll stick around for the honeymoon. But I don't see what good it'll do."

Staring down at the pair on the bed Kurama's left eye widened as he let out a silent gasp. "Actually Yusuke, I think it'd be best if we waited outside. The 'newlyweds' are still in a very awkward position and both seem to be wearing Hiei's birthday suit."

Chuckling at the kitsune's small joke the detective followed him out of the room, Kurama shutting the door behind them.

Once they were gone and their footsteps indicated that were all the way in the living room the 'sleeping' fire youkai cracked open an eye.

_So those fools think they can just barge in here uninvited and try to come between the onna and me? _he thought angrily, _That cretin Koenma must have sent for them when Botan's communication mirror was 'accidentally' stepped on._

Pushing himself up a bit he stared down at the truly sleeping ferry onna. She was absolutely breathtaking, slumbering peacefully, bathed in the fresh morning light. No one was going to take her away from him. He wouldn't have it. He loved her that was clear now.

_Grr...but if anyone could find a loophole to this mating it would surely be that brat Koenma._ he seethed. Sniffing the air around them he was a bit disappointed to find that her scent hadn't changed to that of an expecting female. But it was short lived disappointment. She was a ningen, not a youkai. Mated ningens didn't always get pregnant on the first try. _Of course all I have to do is make sure to get her pregnant before the toddler can reverse this._

"Hiei..." Botan muttered sleepily, moving her arms which were hanging loosely around his neck so that he was pulled back down towards her, "...don't leave. Hiei...stay."

Smirking the flattered fire demon was confident that he'd be able to abide by her request, and make their new marital bond an eternal and unbreakable one.

* * *

Yukina sat outside on the top step of the final flight of stairs to Genkai's temple. The elderly fighter was out training, enjoying her second round of life and scheming up new tests of skill that would make her dimwitted apprentice cringe in fear.

The kind hearted koorime hummed softly to herself as she continued to work on her knitting. It was an interesting hobby that she'd picked up from Ruri (the ice maiden who had been the best friend of her late mother Hina). It was a bit unlike her to be up and about this early into the day but thoughts of her upcoming pregnancy simply wouldn't let her sleep.

The rhythmic tapping of footsteps caught her attention. Someone was coming up the temple steps. Looking up she spotted a familiar brunette pulling out a packet of what appeared to be gum. The woman approached her offering a smile and a friendly nod.

Smiling back she greeted the elder Kuwabara sibling cheerfully, "Hello Shizuru, it's very nice to see you again!"

"Same to you hon," Shizuru smiled, popping a square piece out from the packet and popping it into her mouth.

"What's that?" Yukina inquired.

Making a disgusted face the human girl replied, "Nicotine gum, doesn't taste so good but it does help calm the cravings."

Yukina seemed more confused.

Laughing good naturedly Shizuru explained, "I'm trying to quit smoking. Kurama's worried I'll get cancer or something."

"Oh," Yukina nodded sort of understanding.

"So, what'cha workin' on?"

Blushing slightly Yukina held her project out for Shizuru to see. It was a tiny pair of stockings for her new baby. "This is the second pair I've made. The other is on my dresser inside."

"Aw," Shizuru rubbed the material, "it's so soft, seems warm too, perfect for a baby."

"Thank you." Yukina smiled faintly before laying the article down in her lap and staring at it uneasily.

The brunette frowned, "What's the matter kid? Getting the pre-motherhood blues or something?"

When Yukina merely shrugged Shizuru sighed and plopped down beside of her. Placing a hand on her shoulder in reassurance she spoke, "Look, my idiot brother's already told me all about the whole becoming a single mom on your 100th birthday thing. In a way it sounds wonderful—but—in another way, it must really suck."

"But, I should be happy?" it seemed like more of a question than a statement from the sullen ice maiden.

"Yeah," Shizuru agreed, "and excited, and scared, and confused. A whole range of emotions are perfectly understandable right now."

A moment of silence passed between them as the young koorime thought about what her friend has just said. "Shizuru?"

"Yeah?"

"You said that Kurama was worried about your health...so you're trying to quit smoking." she began.

"That's right," the brunette nodded.

"Well, Kazuma's told me before that he's talked to you about it. But you never seemed willing to quit for him." the green haired female continued, "Why is it that you've decided to listen to Kurama's concerns?"

Understanding her reasoning a bit more now the elder Kuwabara replied, "Well, it's not like I completely ignored Baby Bro's concerns. It's just," her cheeks grew red as she searched for an explanation that her friend would understand, "with Kurama, things are different. I mean, I care about him a lot. And I know he cares about me. And it's different from Baby Bro, cause I know he cares too but...not in the same way that Kurama does."

_Oh great_, she winced, _way to go Shizuru. Now the poor kid's completely lost!_

Blinking at the anxious woman Yukina turned her answer over in her head a few times. This was most curious, this 'different way of caring' that Shizuru spoke of. "Is it, like the way that Yusuke and Keiko care for each other? The way that led them to become mates?"

"Exactly!" Shizuru smiled, "Wait..." she thought of herself and her increasingly closer relationship with the redheaded fox demon within the human body of Shuuichi Minamino.

Chuckling at the light brown eyed woman's conflicting expression Yukina felt that she now had a better understanding of the new level of 'love' that seemed to exist outside of the floating koorime island. There she had only known of the love between friends and mother and child (or siblings). But here, there was a whole new bond. The love shared between two people of a stronger emotional connection. These 'soulmates' possessed a love that was beyond words, something that she—like her mother—desperately longed for.

_But..._she frowned_...will any man ever love me if I'm already a mother? He would have to accept my children as his own. I must always put them first! So...does that mean that I must always be alone?_

"OH YUKINA BABY!!!" a male's loud and rather distinctive voice called from up ahead.

Shizuru put a hand to her face, "Here comes the _Embarrassment Express_, right on time."

Grinning at the comment Yukina tucked the baby stockings away into the fold of her kimono and stood to greet Kuwabara.

She didn't have to wait long before an odd orange hairdo appeared over the edge of the steps. "Yukina precious!" Kuwabara exclaimed, "It's so nice to see you again!"

"Hello Kazuma," she responded, wondering why in the world his hands were hidden behind his back.

"Ehehe...so, you look really pretty today my love. Nobody could even tell that you're...um...a mommy-to-be." he commented clumsily.

Yukina put her hand up and waved it correcting him, "Oh no Kazuma! That's not until tomorrow."

"Yeah Baby Bro," Shizuru muttered sarcastically, "our biological clocks are _real_ particular about these things."

"Oh," he murmured then released a nervous laugh, "Well whatever! The important thing is that your beloved Kazuma Kuwabara, champion of romance and devotion, is here for ya babe!"

Yukina took a step backwards, unsure of what he meant by that.

He excitedly whipped his hands out from behind his back revealing two large gift bags with pale pink and blue colored tissue paper sticking out from the top. "For you my darling snow queen!"

_Please tell me he didn't. _Shizuru silently begged.

Staring at the bags in bewilderment the red eyed koorime sweat dropped, "What's all this Kazuma?"

"Gifts for you and our children my angel!" he announced proudly.

"You mean **_her_** children..._dumbass_." Shizuru corrected, mumbling the last part under her breath.

"Look sis, Yukina and I are lovers and we have been for a really long time now so it's the same thing!" Kuwabara shouted before whipping back around to the startled koorime, "Never mind her my sparkling ice maiden, she's just mad cause Kurama hasn't worked up the nerve to ask her out yet."

"O-oh." Yukina stuttered taking one of the bags and sitting back down, leaving enough space on the step for Kuwabara to sit next to her, opposite the side his sister was sitting.

Going through the bag she was surprised at all the thoughtful gifts her friend had bought for her and her ('their') future children.

_A rattle, some cloth diapers, a stuffed cat, baby powder, bottles, and a hot pink pacifier shaped like a heart._ Shizuru named off the items in her head as Yukina laid them out carefully on a large piece of pale pink tissue paper at her feet. _You really went all out didn't ya Baby Bro? Too bad Yukina still doesn't get how serious you are about the whole 'eternal love and devotion' thing._

"Oh Kazuma," Yukina gasped holding up a frilly mint green infant sized dress, "this is all so...how very considerate of you! You know you didn't have to?"

"This is nothin'!" Kuwabara said proudly, "Just check inside the other bag!"

Hesitantly she obeyed and was stunned to see a wide assortment of newborn/infant boy things.

Shizuru's eyes widened. _Why'd I ever agree to quit smoking? I could **really** use a cigarette right about now!_

Standing up she decided it was best just to leave and get as far away from the misinterpreted bliss of her little brother as humanly possible. It was a rather tricky escape, considering that she had to step over a diaper bag, a tiny hand-painted wooden train engine, two bottles, a blue star-shaped pacifier, and a few more cloth diapers.

The young orange-haired man stared intently at Yukina who was looking down at a baby blue jumper she'd just pulled from the bag. She laid it on her lap next to the frilly dress with a baffled expression.

"It's in case ya have a boy...ya know...like your mom did?" he explained. "A-and even if ya don't, we can always return it! Or...uh...who knows? One of your girls may turn out to be a tomboy. N-not that there's anything wrong with that! I mean, my sister's kind of a tomboy. Please don't tell her I said that!"

Smiling she decided not to remind him that koorime only had twin girls. The only reason she had a brother was because her mother had reproduced through mating, as was against the intended koorime way. Truthfully, she wouldn't mind having a boy. She wasn't afraid of exile because she had chosen not to return to the island sometime after the great Makai tournament had ended.

Kuwabara rocked back and forth uneasily on the edge of the step. Yukina had been silently staring at the outfits in her lap for quite some time now. _Oh great_, he panicked, _she hates the gifts!_

A soft whisper, almost impossible for his human ears to detect, quieted his fears. "What was that Yukina?"

Still smiling she turned and met his gaze, "I said...thank you."

A goofy grin spread over his sweaty face, "Aw shucks, it was nothin' baby! Just tryin' to cheer you up!"

"Well this was very sweet of you." she grinned, "And I appreciate everything you've done for me Kazuma. You're a most wonderful friend."

Kuwabara nearly collapsed at this, "J-just a 'friend'?"

The smile fading a bit Yukina tried to figure out why that had made him so sad. He _was_ a wonderful friend after all. He'd always been there for her. Offering a kind word or some amusing antic to brighten her day. Isn't that what he wanted? To be her friend?

"What's wrong Kazuma?" she asked, "Aren't we friends?"

"I guess so," Kuwabara replied trying to mask his broken heart. She really didn't understand what he was trying to be, the love that he showed her and had hoped she returned. "I mean, if that's all you want to be. It-it's certainly better than being strangers huh?"

Even he couldn't manage a grin for his own joke.

Watching him worriedly the green haired maiden couldn't understand what was so disheartening about being friends. _What does he mean, "if that's all you want to be"?_

Thinking back on their past encounters she searched for any clue as to what might have caused this odd behavior. He had admittedly always acted a bit strangely towards her in the past. But this had simply become a common puzzlement that she had grown accustomed to.

Unable to bear the harsh reality of Yukina's true feelings of solely friendship towards him any longer Kuwabara stood up to leave. "Um, I guess I really should get going. I have a class starting soon and the teacher gets real grouchy when I'm late."

The ice maiden looked up at him with teary scarlet eyes. "K-Kazuma..."

"Hey don't worry about it bab—ur—Yukina." he smiled, "I'll stop back by after school. I'm glad you like the gifts. See you later."

She felt awful as she sat there watching him slowly walk away. It felt as though she'd done something horrible to hurt him, almost as if she'd broken his heart.

A light suddenly went off inside her perplexed mind as all the pieces instantly came together, _His heart! Oh Kazuma! All the compliments, the gifts, the outings, the flirting...it was all...**real**! _

She couldn't believe it. Here she had been secretly wishing for a chance to find her soulmate, to love him and be loved in return. To know what it was to truly bond with a person on every possible level. All this time, and he'd been right there in front of her, pronouncing his love and doing his very best to prove himself sincere.

Unaware of how tightly she was now clutching the miniature outfits to her breasts she stood and bounded down the steps desperately calling out to the departing young man below. "Kazuma! KAZUMA WAIT! PLEASE DON'T GO YET!!"

* * *

_Amanda/Artiste:_ Whoa...long...really long chapter! I honestly hadn't intended for it to be so...LONG. Eh, more reading fun for you and a big headache to proofread for me. Sorry for any typos, grammatical mistakes, etc. I've got 22 pages to check over! Some fun facts: Botan's apartment number was chosen by the first letters of baka ferry onna and their order in the alphabet (b2, f6, and o is just 0 so it wasn't in the thousands) and the B simply stands for Botan thus apt. 260B. Next Chapter: Can things be patched up between Yukina and Kuwabara before her 'big day'? Will Hiei succeed with his plan to keep Botan or will Koenma discover a loophole? Ooo! If a loophole is discovered...will Botan even use it?! Review and find out next update!


	5. The Appeal of Young Love

**A/N:** I have never laughed so hard reading reviews for my fanfics before! I appreciate the honesty, humor, and reactions everyone has included in their feedback. Thanks for the great reviews, please keep them coming! Sorry it's taken me a while to update, I've been inspired to type out a few Danny Phantom fics recently. Anyways I'm back now so on with the story! P.S.-There will be a LEMON in this chapter.

_**Driven by Instinct, Guided to Love**_

_Chapter Five: The Appeal of Young Love_

"KAZUMA!" a female's frantic voice called.

This was the morning of the final day before her unavoidable pregnancy. With thoughts of becoming a mother-to-be in just twenty-four hours the young koorime had failed to notice the increasingly unsubtle proclamations of devotion and love from her longtime admirer Kazuma Kuwabara.

_He loves me._ she thought as her feet quickly propelled her down the temple steps and towards the retreating man just a flight of stairs down. _He loves me...and he wants to be a father to my babies! Kazuma, I never realized..._

Kuwabara's head was hung low and his eyes fixed on the steps beneath him. He felt like a fool. All this time and he'd never noticed how oblivious Yukina was to his flirtation and courting. _Maybe Hiei's right, I am just some oaf. _he thought bitterly, _Just another worthless human. I'm not worthy of her love. Kuwa**baka **is right, what an idiot I must've looked like to her._

"KAZUMA PLEASE!" she pleaded, finally within earshot.

Kuwabara paused near the bottom of the steps. He thought he'd heard something. A faint cry nearly lost in the wind. Turning around he was just in time to see his beloved snow queen trip over her own foot and fall forward. Before she could hit the ground he managed to rush up and catch her.

They stayed that way for a moment. Yukina with her face buried in his chest. Kuwabara frowning slightly as he awkwardly stood with his hands lightly covering her shoulders. After what seemed like an eternity of uneasy silence the koorime slowly lifted her head and met his longing melancholy gaze. Her cheeks were tinted a deep pink as she stared up into his emotion-filled eyes. They seemed to dance with the unshed tears of a broken heart. She hated to see him this way.

"Kazuma..." she choked back a sob, "...I-"

Forcing a small smile he removed his hand from her right shoulder and gingerly brushed her bangs aside. "Don't worry Yukina. You haven't done anything wrong. I'll get over it. Sorry for acting like a lovesick...well...sorry if I've embarrassed you."

Her own tears were trailing down her cheeks. She'd left a few rare tear gems littered across the temple's steps on her way down. Now a small pile was starting to gather at her feet. "Stop!" she cried, "It's my fault!"

Taken aback by her uncharacteristically sharp tone he let go and stared down at her in disbelief. _Her fault? My sweet Yukina didn't do a thing wrong. I was the dummy trying to win her over all the time._

Fearing that he would turn and try to leave again she reached out and quickly grabbed him by the folds of his jacket. "Just wait Kazuma, please! I-I admit I didn't understand what you meant back when you started saying such things to me. I didn't know if you were serious or just trying to be polite. But..."

She was at a loss for how to adequately explain herself. The words were there, they just refused to come to her. "...you were always saying nice things to me. Telling me how much you cared. I assumed you wanted to be good friends. I like being with you Kazuma. You make me smile."

Kuwabara was dumbfounded by Yukina's words. A small smile formed upon her tear stained face after her last statement. Her smiles were always the most beautiful of sights to him. He could while away the rest of his life in complete contentment just staring dreamily at the smiling face of his angelic ice apparition.

"I never really fit in back in my homeland." she confessed sadly, "But when I came here to search for my brother, when I met you and the others, I finally felt like I belonged. You were my first real friend Kazuma. I will never forget how you bravely fought the Toguro brothers to rescue me. And then how you humbly asked me not to hate mankind. Kazuma I've never met anyone like you before."

The confession was getting harder and harder to make. She tried her best to look him in the eye. The intensity of the emotions she beheld when peering into his mahogany orbs was becoming a bit overwhelming for her. The heat in her cheeks seemed to spread throughout her entire body. She felt faint, but she had to finish, she had to let Kazuma know just how much he meant to her. And most of all, she had to tell him what nearly losing his affection had forced her to realize.

"Yu-Yukina..." Kuwabara breathed, _I-Is she about to say what I think she's gonna say?!_

As the young man desperately prayed it was true Yukina managed to collect herself enough to continue before she lost the nerve.

"Tomorrow I become a mother-to-be. I was so afraid that once that happened I'd forever lose my chance to find a soul mate. Unlike the other koorime I want to break tradition, I want to fall in love. I guess I truly am my mother's child." Her knees were starting to shake now, her breathing became more labored. _Please give me the courage to tell him how I feel._ she quietly begged. "Kazuma if I ever lost you I...I wouldn't just be losing my best friend. I'd be losing my soul mate. You've done everything to prove your desire to be with me Kazuma. Until now I never considered it a possibility that you might truly love me. I'm sorry I broke your heart dearest Kazuma." she blushed harder at her attempt to compliment him with a term of endearment she had often heard him use towards her, "And I thank you."

"For...for what?" he ventured, his throat so tight he feared his nervousness alone would strangle him to death before he got an answer.

"For making me see," she said softly, "how much I love you."

Inside the anxious heart of the lovesick young man fireworks instantly went off. It was as if a mountain of fear and anticipation had been lifted from his shoulders. _She loves me!_ he inwardly crowed, _Yukina, my beloved snow princess, really LOVES **ME**!!!_

"OH YUKINA!" he beamed quickly swooping her up into his arms and spinning around with her at the base of the temple steps. "YUKINA! YUKINA! YUKINA!" he sang as she laughed happily, amused and overjoyed.

"Kazuma!" she giggled, "I'm so glad you aren't unhappy anymore!"

"How can I be unhappy when the woman I love finally says she loves me back?!" he chuckled, ceasing his spinning he stumbled backwards a bit before steadying himself and slowly placing Yukina back on the ground.

Yukina's smile was priceless. She wore a grin so big her eyes were forced shut. She loved seeing Kazuma so ecstatic. Even more, she loved being the cause of his bliss. "Kazuma darling, does this mean that you still want to be a husband to me, and a father to my children?"

"Of course!" he announced happily, "We'll have a perfect family Yukina! A strong handsome father, a beautiful intelligent mother, and two sweet natured and pretty daughters who no boy will want to pick on!"

Laughing Yukina hugged her new love. A smirk spread over her usually naively blissful features as she held up the blue jumper, "Or perhaps we'll have a daughter and a _son_?"

Kuwabara paused and gazed down at the oddly behaving koorime in his arms. Confusion was plainly written on his face, "Um...Yukina my love, I just thought of something. If all koorime are girls and they all reproduce on their own. How are we supposed to have a son?"

Shaking her head the ice maiden just smiled to herself. It seemed it was Kazuma's turn to be blissfully naive. Holding the tiny garments in one hand she used the other to grab the collar of Kazuma's jacket. "Come with me koi," she said in her sweetest tone as she led him back up the temple steps, "and I'll show you."

* * *

In the living room area of an apartment back within the confines of civilization two young men sat on a faded dark beige sofa staring at the face of a very perturbed toddler.

"Oh dear, now this isn't good." Koenma sighed resting a cheek on his tiny fist. "Well since you weren't able to reach them in time I suppose the only thing we can do is hope that this whole thing works out for the best."

"Koenma," Kurama ventured half-heartedly, "isn't there any way to reverse the ritual and remove the claiming mark?"

"I'm afraid no known method has proven successful," Koenma answered glumly, "Unless you count the destruction of the claimer."

"I don't think Hiei's gonna be very cooperative there." Yusuke muttered grouchily. He couldn't believe he'd been dragged out of his nice warm bed in the early hours of the morning to come and deal with a horny fire demon's lust after his assistant. "Look, as far as I'm concerned what's done is done. Hiei's nailed Botan and made her his lifelong mate. There's nothing we can do about that. So why stick around here only to make an already awkward situation that much more awkward huh?!"

"For once I must agree with Yusuke," Koenma answered with narrowed eyes at the overly blunt spirit detective, "Hiei and Botan should be waking up anytime now. I highly doubt that finding the two of you there will help them to resolve matters."

"Ordinarily I would've already left," Kurama admitted, "but this is Hiei. He isn't much for socialization or outwardly displaying his affection. I admit that he possesses the ability to be quite protective and caring at times yet he prefers to do so obscurely."

"So, what're you gettin' at Kurama?" Yusuke demanded.

Sighing Kurama explained, "Hiei still hasn't resigned himself to revealing his true identity to Yukina. How can we expect him to openly accept Botan (a mate he took off of primal impulse) when he won't even openly admit relation to his own sister?"

Hearing that dismal reasoning Koenma and Yusuke frowned, sinking further into pessimistic speculations of the situation's outcome. Kurama had a point, and he was usually right about these things, poor Botan...

"And then there's the matter of how _she'll_ react to all of this." Kurama added solemnly.

"You mean Botan?" Yusuke asked, "I don't get it? Wouldn't she be okay with it? I mean, she did give in and mark the little guy."

"Yes but I doubt it was a decision that she came to lightly." Kurama responded looking up from his lap where his thumbs were twiddling between his knees as he sat slumped forward pondering all the possible scenarios. "If Hiei, as we fear, decides to refuse her as a mate then it could lead to quite a devastating heartbreak for her."

"If Hiei goes and pulls a gutless thing like that he'll meet up with the end of my spirit gun." Yusuke vowed.

"YUSUKE!" Koenma shouted, "If you go and attack Hiei with your spirit gun he'll unleash his Dragon of the Darkness Flame on you and then I'll have to find myself another spirit detective so don't you dare!"

"Are you saying that you think that pint sized flamethrower could beat me?!" Yusuke demanded his face at such close range with the communicator that his breath was starting to fog up the screen.

"No," Koenma shook his head, "chances are you'd** both** wind up wiping each other out."

"Hn," a familiar voice came from the entrance of the hallway catching everyone's attention, "Don't flatter him Koenma. We both know that my dragon would swallow the fool and his precious spirit gun."

"Hiei," Kurama said slightly surprised that he hadn't sensed the smaller demon's energy when he arrived. He'd been trying to keep tabs on Hiei's youki from the time he'd suspected his awakening back in the bedroom when he and Yusuke had just arrived.

Hiei's narrowed eyes zeroed in on the fox, "Don't think I don't know what you're all thinking. I've heard everything that's been said about my supposed negative reaction to claiming the ferry onna. You idiots couldn't be more wrong."

"Now Hiei," Koenma tried to reason with the irritated youkai, "no need to get upset. We were just concerned that your instincts may have taken principle over your sense of reason."

"I assure you—you meddling brat—that my 'sense of reason' was never impaired." Hiei spat, "I claimed the onna of my own free will and given the chance I'd do it all over again. She is **_my_** mate and I won't stand for any more of your ignorant interference into **_my_** affairs."

"But Hiei you still have just short of twenty-four hours until-" Kurama began.

"GO!" Hiei ordered pointing a tense finger towards the door.

Kurama studied his ally's face intently. A strong spark of determination flickered in the small stature demon's crimson eyes. He'd never seen Hiei so dead serious about something this dire before. He may have very well been acting on instincts when he'd taken the girl, yet despite his primitive drive, it had all been a willful act.

Yusuke followed in suit when he saw Kurama nod to Hiei before rising to leave. Closing the communicator the spirit detective fell in step behind the redhead who paused with his hand resting on the doorknob.

Taking one last look over his shoulder at the stern faced demon Kurama spoke sincerely, "Congratulations on your new life Hiei. I wish you and Botan the very best. Please, know that I'm here if there's anything that either of you need."

"He means _we're_ here if ya need anything." Yusuke grinned, giving his pint sized bud a thumb's up, "Just don't go calling me up at one in the morning like some other miniaturized pain in the neck I know."

Hesitantly Hiei gave his friends a quick nod, dismissing them. _Not that I'll ever need **their** help but still, anything to get them to leave. At least now I know that they won't make any foolish attempts to separate us._

He waited until the door was once again shut and the sounds of the duo's footsteps faded off down the hall before walking back into the bedroom.

Botan was seated on the side of her bed; the sheets were still askew, though she'd pulled on a bathrobe and tied her hair back up. A slight pinkish tinge lined her cheeks; obviously she'd heard the whole thing.

"That was, really nice of you...did you...did you mean all of that?" she questioned unsurely, looking up at him through messy powder blue bangs.

"Hn, I never say anything I don't mean onna," Hiei replied nonchalantly.

"Oh," Botan looked down at her bare feet; a small smile crept over her lips, "so I'm back to 'onna' now?"

"Just because I still think you're a bit of a baka onna doesn't mean I don't love you." he replied, a bit of blush starting to appear on his face as well.

"And I still love you, although you're a foul tempered reclusive youkai." she teased, happy that Hiei didn't regret their actions last night. Her meek tone of voice was starting to regain its usual cheeriness.

Drawing a bit nearer he asked, "What are you doing up anyway? When I left you were still sleeping...or at least you were trying to seem that way."

Botan's blush deepened, _So he noticed. Figures, I should know better than to try and pull one over on Hiei._ "I decided to go ahead and get up. Kurama's pretty soft spoken but Yusuke's horrible at keeping a low profile."

Hiei let a soft—almost inaudible—chuckle escape between the upturned corners of his lips. This did not go unnoticed by the ferry girl sitting before him. Happy that she'd managed to make him laugh she leapt to her feet and hustled towards the door.

"Where are you going onna?" Hiei inquired, a bit disappointed that she didn't want to lavish any sort of affection on him before leaving the room.

Stopping she spun around on her heal, clasping her hands together as if realizing she'd forgotten something. She practically skipped over to the curious fire demon then planted a loving kiss on his cheek. "Oh I'm just off to make my new hubby something delicious for breakfast! I want everything to be just perfect for our first day together as a couple!"

Hiei's features sagged, a sweat drop forming on the left side of his brow. What had he gotten himself into? The last he recalled Yusuke and Kuwabara had spent a good two hours each in the bathroom after forcing down a plateful of Botan's questionable home cooking.

Reluctantly he dragged himself into the kitchen and winced at the ruckus she was causing while trying to gather together various pots and pans for making breakfast.

_I don't even like ningen cooking_, he grumbled inwardly, _so how am I supposed to stomach her concoctions?_

"Um," Botan paused, staring at the ingredients she'd placed atop her counter, "I'm sure this margarine isn't out of date, I can't seem to find when it expires."

Hiei gulped while she starting sorting through the mess. Every now and then she would pick something up and study it for a moment before muttering something absently to herself...and unsettling to his stomach.

"How much non-stick cooking spray does a non-stick frying pan require?"

_She's kidding...right?_ Hiei felt his eyebrow twitch.

"Hiei, does this milk smell all right to you?"

Any hopes he was harboring of surviving his first ningen meal with the onna died right then and there. _I don't suppose there's any way I can convince her to stop playing 'house' and get back to mating._

For the sake of his digestive track he had to try...

_Oh dear_, the ferry girl frowned, _I hope Hiei doesn't realize just how inexperienced I am at this whole cooking thing. I've been dead for quite a while, and a bodiless soul really doesn't require much nourishment. And now that I have a body again...I'm seriously out of practice._

Still, to keep up pretenses, the blue haired woman clambered about the kitchen as if cooking was second nature to her.

Leaning over the stove to adjust the knobs she yelped when she felt two strong arms wrap themselves securely around her waist. The warm breath that swept across the back of her neck caused her hair to stand on end. Her whole body seemed to tingle with some sort of inexplicable anticipation as the fire demon rubbed against her sensuously.

The friction created by his erotic motions was starting to get to the both of them. Botan's thoughts strayed from cooking to the highly enjoyable activities of the previous night (or early morning). Hiei's primal side was awakening again, his eyes began to glow their aroused shade of blood red while a low throated growl resounded in the earlobe of the ferry girl he'd pressed himself up against.

Botan shakily supported her weight and the force of Hiei rubbing himself against her by placing two jello-like arms between the back burners. A few more strands fell from her sloppily done up ponytail as Hiei's motions strengthened. She braced herself as best she could, it was clear that his instincts were once again in control. It was then that she was reminded of the fact that he still had one day to go before his hundredth birthday, a time when he was intent on having offspring. Well, to be more specific, a time when he was intent on **_her_** having **_his_** offspring.

"Hiei..." she managed in a raspy voice.

"Hn..." a dull grunt answered.

"Is...Is the kitchen really the...the best place to be doing this?"

Smirking against her neck as he nudged the fold of her bathrobe aside, exposing the bite mark, he tightened his grasp. In one fluid motion he spun them around, knocking the pots, pans, placemats, and floral centerpiece off the kitchen table and laying his mate atop it. "Why not? There's plenty of room." he replied grinning down into her startled fuchsia eyes.

**_(Warning: _Lemon _to follow. If you don't wanna read it then scroll down to the next set of parenthesis!)_**

Botan swallowed the lump forming in her throat as Hiei tore open the folds of her bathrobe and pushed the sleeves down past her elbows. Her arms were outstretched; her fingers gripped the edges of her round table so tightly that her knuckles were white. Her breathing came in short, raspy breaths. She felt a familiar heat sweep over her body as Hiei hastily rid himself of the baggy black pants he was wearing and positioned himself to take her for a second time.

Their eyes were locked, each gazing upon the other with adoring fascination. When Hiei's patience had had all that it could stand he dug his claws into the wood beneath her shoulders with the palms of his hands holding her down as he plunged himself in, reeling in the titillating cry that followed.

The blue haired girl struggled against his firm grasp. She wanted to cry, she wanted to scream, she wanted to get away, she wanted to stay lost in this bittersweet bliss forever. Amidst all her conflicting needs she settled for bucking her hips up against him, encouraging him to continue, to drive her mad with desire. She swore his instincts were contagious. They seemed to be of one mind whenever they became enthralled in intercourse.

"Hi—ei!" she moaned, tossing her head back as be bent down to suck on her neck, trailing an agonizingly slow path down and over to her claiming mark.

Growling possessively he bit down, his teeth lining up perfectly with the marks left from before, and lapped greedily at the sweet, coppery liquid that gushed forth.

Botan's scream of pain was quickly replaced by a moan of delight as Hiei's ministrations became more soothing to her tortured flesh.

"Botan," he murmured against her skin as he began to rock against her. This time he wouldn't stop until he was sure their kodomo had been conceived. With one day left his will to create offspring was his being's strongest desire. No one would interrupt them now. They had time. Everything was in place. By this time tomorrow her scent would change to that of a woman with child.

Bright magenta eyes shut tight Botan finally managed to pry her hands off the edges of the table. She rapidly brought them up to her lover. One rested on the back of his head, her fingers brushing through and at times tightly gripping fistfuls of his unruly ebony hair. Her other hand ran up and down the lightly tanned, smooth, and sweat bead covered length of his back. Every so often a thrust would prove so overwhelming to her screaming senses that she'd unconsciously dig her nails into his flesh, leaving thin scratch marks that would need to be healed later.

Her own instincts were screaming at her to do more, to lavish affections upon Hiei as he was doing to her. Opening her eyes she spotted the mark she'd left on his collar bone, the one that meant he was forever hers and hers alone. When he pulled back from her shoulder to catch his breath she hurriedly seized the moment and mirrored his actions by biting down possessively, and reopening the tender wound.

He loved her...he truly did. Such simple conclusions became evident in idyllic moments like these, when she cast all rationale aside and went with her most primal urges, as did he his.

Their pace had quickened, it wouldn't be long now. He felt his climax coming, and her wild responses to his every motion told him that she wasn't far from hers either. All they needed to do was hold on, and go with their every whim. Things would work out fine, if only they didn't stop to reason with everything. A bubbly ferry girl and an anti-social fire demon...an unlikely couple perhaps, but an unbeatable match nonetheless.

"Hiei..." Botan whimpered, lying back against the wooden surface beneath them.

Damn, he loved that sound. The sound of her whimpering his name completely lost in ecstasy, on the verge of euphoria. He wasted no time in claiming her mouth with his own. Their tongues roamed over every inch of their moist caverns. They both reached their climaxes almost simultaneously, crying out to their lover, holding fast to their mate.

**_(End of _Lemon_, it's safe to read, all's PG-13 and lower from this point people.)_**

"I love you koi," Botan managed after a few minutes of panting.

Hiei lifted his head from her chest, where he'd collapsed a short while before, "I'll love you always, Botan."

Their sentimental moment was short lived as a soft noise reached their ears.

_Creak._

Bright magenta eyes widening a fraction Botan lifted her head to listen closer, "What was that?"

Shrugging Hiei laid his head back down, "It's probably nothing onna, just your neighbors moving about."

_Creak!_

"Hiei, there it is again." Botan stated, it sounded like it was coming from under the-

_CREAK!_

"**AAAHHH!!!"**

"**AAAHHH!!!"**

_CRASH!!!_

"...stupid baka ningen carpentry."

"Hiei Jaganeshi...YOU OWE ME A NEW TABLE!!!"

* * *

_Amanda/Artiste:_ Lol, I could not resist! Hope I didn't make anyone too OOC in this chapter, it's not easy when _ahem_ 'adult situations' are involved. Yes, I'm giving Yukina some credit in the 'knowing how to mate' department. But if her mother knew how then c'mon, Yukina's a smart enough person, she was probably either told, or figured it out herself. Reviews would be appreciated and taken as early Christmas presents! Flames will get you brick hard fruit cake. Next Chapter: Is Botan finally the proud mother-to-be of the next Jaganeshi generation? And how will everyone's favorite fire demon react when Kuwabara and Yukina announce themselves as mates? O.o' 


	6. Too Much Information!

**A/N** Wow! Over a hundred reviews!! Thanks! 8-D Yes Yukina was a bit OOC, then again, how the heck are we supposed to know how she'd act in that situation?! Anyway, I'm glad everyone seems to be enjoying the story. I doubt I'll do any Kuwabara/Yukina lemons just because—well—there are some places where even MY imagination dare not tread.

_**Driven by Instinct, Guided to Love**_

_Chapter Six: Too Much Information!_

_RING!_

Keiko hurried in from the kitchen with a dish rag in one hand and picked up the phone. No sooner had she held it to her ear than a male voice exclaimed loudly-

"HEY URAMESHI! I AM THE MAN!!"

"What?" Keiko asked.

"Huh?" the speaker seemed puzzled too.

Sighing Keiko began her traditional greeting, "Hello, Urameshi residence, Keiko speaking. How may I help you?"

"Oh...hehe...hi Keiko." the speaker laughed nervously, "This is Kuwabara. Is Urameshi home?"

Rolling her eyes Keiko started off down the hallway with the cordless phone in tow, "He's still in bed. He came home grumbling about Koenma and his dumb meddling before conking out. Hold on, I'll get him for you."

Kuwabara winced at the sound of a door being kicked open followed by a loud, "YUSUKE!! TELEPHONE! GET UP ALEADY!!"

Next came a few muttered swears from Yusuke, a powerhouse slap from Keiko, and finally a grumpy answer, "Hello? What is it?"

"Urameshi?" Kuwabara ventured.

"Yeah yeah, what do you want?" Yusuke yawned.

Clearing his throat Kuwabara repeated ecstatically, "I AM THE MAN!!"

"What the heck are you talking about?" Yusuke demanded tiredly.

"You heard me Urameshi," Kuwabara stated proudly, "I'm the man! The man of love!"

"Is this about some kinda twisted dream you had? Cause if it is...keep that garbage to yourself!" Yusuke made a sour face unwilling to contemplate all the emotionally scarring things Kuwabara could brag about fantasizing.

"Oh ha ha very funny," Kuwabara replied sarcastically, "Look Yukina and I have finally declared our love for one another and-"

"And that's it?!" Yusuke snapped, "You called to tell me about how you mindlessly flirted with her again? That's old news you idiot!"

"But this time it's different!" Kuwabara insisted.

"How?!" Yusuke rolled his eyes.

"Well—it's different because we—uh—well ya see we-" Kuwabara stammered.

"Spit it out will ya?!"

"We made love! Okay Urameshi! We made love! Are ya happy now?!" he blurted out.

There was a loud bang on the other line, signaling that a very stunned spirit detective had just dropped the phone.

"Hello?"

It took a moment for Yusuke to collect himself. Kuwabara was a dead man, and he didn't even know why!

"K-Kuwabara?" he swallowed his nervousness and grabbed the phone. _I've gotta be the first one he's told. That baka would wanna rub it in my face first that he finally got the girl._

"Hehe," Kuwabara chuckled naively thinking that Yusuke was in awe of his manly prowess with the ladies, "man I knew you'd be speechless!"

"Oh get over yourself you moron!" Yusuke snapped, "Do you have any idea what you've just done?!"

"Uh yeah, I've won the favor of my lady love and now she and I are gonna be an item. Oh! And that's not even the best part! Wait til ya hear this!"

_Oh great, Yusuke rolled his eyes, his frown sagging further, more good news from Mr. RIP._

"By this time tomorrow Yukina and I are gonna be **parents**!" the orange haired man boasted.

Yusuke fell off the bed head first, "WHAT?!"

_Well if he wasn't dead before he's kindling now for sure! the spirit detective concluded. "You're such a big dope Kuwabara don't you realize Hiei's gonna incinerate you?!"_

"Huh?" Kuwabara obviously still wasn't in on the big secret, oh boy. "Why the heck would Shorty care?"

"Well-" Yusuke paused, Kuwabara's fate was sealed, why jump into the fire with him?

"Oh I get it," Kuwabara exclaimed, "You think Hiei's gonna fry me because he won't think I'm good enough for Yukina! Since she's a demon and I'm a _weak-minded _human and all."

"Uh...yes?" part of Yusuke felt bad for concealing the truth but another part (the dominant one) told him it was best to just leave Kuwabara to his ignorant bliss, however short lived it was sure to be.

"Look don't worry about what the shrimp says." Kuwabara assured him, "Yukina and I are in love so he's just gonna have to deal with it."

"I hope so." Yusuke murmured, "For your sake."

"Anyways I gotta go, my lady and I are off to book a chapel."

_This just keeps getting better. Yusuke sighed to himself, "Let me guess, you wanna make this an official human marriage too?"_

"Yep! Just like you and Keiko." Kuwabara answered, the sound of jingling keys signaled he was already on his way out. "Well I gotta go Urameshi. I'll call ya back when we find a nice place to hold the ceremony."

"See ya," Yusuke waited until he heard the click from the other end of the line before slumping back down onto the bed and staring up at the ceiling in deep thought. "I hate the Koorime's stupid reproduction instincts." he finally grumbled.

* * *

After the table incident at her apartment Botan had wasted no time in forcing Hiei to replace her table and haul the new one all the way upstairs for her. And it figured, the elevator was out of order.

Hiei muttered curses under his breath the whole way up while Botan ran ahead to unlock the door. This was NOT how he'd planned on spending the day.

The blue haired girl opened the door and spun around with a irrepressible smile on her face. Hiei looked so--well--peeved! It actually was rather amusing to see the sour faced fire demon hunched over carting a large box on his back.

"What are you smiling at?" he demanded when he reached the door.

"Your expression is priceless." she giggled. "C'mon, you slide the box in from your side and I'll guide it through the door."

"Hn."

His mood only worsened when he learned that the blasted thing would have to be assembled. "How the hell am I supposed to follow these instructions?!" he yelled, "You have eighteen different types of screws, six lengths of nails, and a twenty page instruction manual that comes in every language except Japanese!!"

"Oh Hiei," Botan tsked, "don't get so worked up, we'll have this put together in no time. And when we do it will only be used for eating off of!"

"Hn, we'll be all day trying to assemble this mess." he huffed.

"Well maybe next time you'll think twice before breaking my furniture." she retorted sticking out her tongue.

"Fine," he smirked, "if you prefer we can always use the floor."

Shooting him a glare she pulled a small toolbox out from the cabinet under her sink. "And with your lack of self control mister we'd wind up breaking the table of the tenant downstairs!"

_RING!_

Botan handed the toolbox to Hiei before grabbing to phone hanging on the adjacent wall. "Hello?"

"Hello? Botan?" came a soft spoken female's voice. "This is Yukina."

"Oh hi there sweetie!" Botan smiled warmly, "How are you?"

"I'm doing fine Botan." Yukina replied sweetly, "How are you?"

Tossing a glance over her shoulder at Hiei who was pulling tools from the toolbox and staring at them quizzically Botan shrugged, "Same as ever. You sound a bit staticy. Are you on a cell phone?"

"Yes," Yukina's voice faltered, as if she was a bit nervous about what she was going to say next. "Kazuma and I are looking at chapels."

_BAM!_

In a split second the ferry girl's knees had turned to jello. Hiei rushed over to see what was wrong.

"Botan?" Yukina asked worriedly.

Keeping the phone pressed tightly against her ear in hopes that Hiei wouldn't hear her Botan waved to him dismissively and tried to laugh it off. "No, I'm all right. Don't worry silly. I'm just a bit clumsy today is all."

Raising an eyebrow Hiei helped her to her feet and stood staring her down for a moment before reluctantly returning to the unassembled table in the middle of the floor. Botan sighed inwardly in relief. That was a close one. And she could still feel Hiei's attentive gaze upon her as she tried to reassure Yukina that she was fine.

"I just took a little tumble there. I'm sorry," she apologized. "Please, go on..."

"Well you see, I'm a Koorime and that means-"

"Oh that's right!" Botan blurted with a snap of her fingers, "It's the same for you. I can't believe that just slipped my mind."

Yukina's eyes widened, "Um...does this mean you know about my becoming a mother tomorrow?"

"Of course silly," Botan beamed, "I--uh--keep up with these things?"

"Oh."

"Now how does that tie into-" Botan paused and glanced back at Hiei who seemed preoccupied with the instruction manual, "-what you said earlier?"

"About the chapel? Kazuma and I are getting married Botan." Yukina stated simply, "He proposed to me, I accepted, and we're already mated by Makai tradition. He wants to be mates by ningen law too."

"Ehehe, how wonderful." Botan felt her stomach lurch, when Hiei found out about this all Hell was sure to break loose. "So when were you planning on doing this?"

"As soon as possible." Yukina answered, "I have less than a day left before I become pregnant. And Kazuma keeps insisting on making an 'honest woman' out of me. What does that mean?"

"It means he wants you to be married before your kids come along." Botan whispered, her bright magenta eyes darting between Hiei and the receiver.

"Why are you whispering?" the koorime inquired. _She certainly is acting very strange today._

"N-No reason," the ferry girl lied, "so you'll call before you tie the knot?" _I really hope Hiei doesn't know what that means!_

"You mean before we get married?" Yukina guessed, "Of course. Oh and Botan?"

"Yes?"

"I know this is unlikely, but if you should see Hiei, would you please give him the news for me?" Yukina pleaded.

Botan felt a huge sweat drop slide down the back of her head, "I-"

"I know he may not come." Yukina admitted, "But I would be very honored if decided to. He's always been very protective of me and he really seems to care about my wishes. He's...well...he's like a brother to me."

_Aw, Botan sighed happily, that's so sweet. And she doesn't even know how right she is. "Alright dear," she promised, "If I see him, I'll be sure to tell him for you."_

"Thank you Botan," Yukina beamed, "I'd better go. I think Kazuma still needs to call Kurama."

"Okay, take care!" Botan bid her good-bye and hung up the phone.

No sooner had she turned around then she was confronted by a very suspicious fire youkai.

"Well," he demanded, "what was that all about?"

"W-What do you mean?" she stammered with a forced grin.

"Something was said that made you collapse." he stated firmly, "What was it? And who were you talking to?"

"Now that's private Hiei." she insisted, "And I told you, I just stumbled. It's nothing."

Crimson eyes narrowed as he took a step closer. "Don't lie to me onna. I want to know what's going on and I want to know now."

Botan gulped when he reached up and yanked his headband away. His Jagan Eye started to glow red, indicating that he was using it to pry into her mind. He was getting his answers, one way or another.

_Eep! He's reading my thoughts! she panicked, What'll I do?!_

Putting on her kitty face she held her hands up like paws and said innocently, "Honestly Hiei you've got to learn to stop being so suspicious. It's not like I can go prowling through your mind every time you refuse to tell me something. Can't a girl keep any secrets?"

The Jagan glowed brighter.

Sweating visibly she decided to try a more desperate approach. A few days ago this would have never crossed her mind. But things were different now. She and Hiei were mates. And that created a whole new option for getting herself out of trouble.

Still in her kitty pose she quickly pounced on the unsuspecting demon causing him to topple over backwards with her on top.

"Oof!" he grunted as he hit the floor and had the wind knocked out of him. This broke his concentration which made his Jagan Eye cease to function.

"Meow," Botan purred playfully batting at his bangs.

Arching an eyebrow Hiei studied her quizzically. "Onna..."

Silencing his inquiries with a kiss Botan decided she could live without a dining room table for a few more hours. Anything to keep Hiei distracted and extend Kuwabara's lifespan. Yukina would call back soon and then she'd have to spill the beans. Maybe she could manage to keep the ice maiden's marriage a secret until she'd gotten Hiei to the chapel?

_Whoever knew that love would be so complicated? _she wondered. But Hiei proved to be quite a distraction as well. A few more minutes of his eager responses to her teasing and she'd forgotten all about the phone call. And as morning became noon they both found themselves lost in the depths of passion.

* * *

_RING!_

"My," said a rather collected male voice, "the phone certainly seems to be ringing off the hook today."

Taking the cordless phone off one of the smaller tables in his living room Kurama barely got to begin his greeting, "Hel-"

"Kurama!" interrupted an agitated female's voice.

"Ah Shizuru," he smiled knowingly, "what can I do for you?"

"That idiot brother of mine has gone and signed his death warrant!" she fumed.

"I assume that you're referring to his engagement to Yukina."

"Yeah, I guess he already gave you a call huh?"

"Just a few minutes ago." he confirmed.

"Well he's a dead man." she sighed in annoyance, "Once Hiei finds out he'll either burn him alive or run him through with that miniaturized sword of his."

Kurama just laughed light heartedly, "I'm not so sure. I believe that Hiei will be most unhappy about this but he is still very dedicated to his sister's happiness."

"So you think he'll spare Kuwabara just to make Yukina happy?" she asked, not really daring to hope for such a fortunate outcome.

"I believe it to be highly possible." Kurama assured her, "I've often mused about how ironic it would be for the two to become in-laws. And Hiei--rather he'll admit it or not--has developed somewhat of a grudging respect for your brother."

"You may be right," Shizuru felt a bit more relaxed now, talking to Kurama always did have a way of calming her nerves. "It's just that Hiei isn't a big fan of the human race. And Kuwabara doesn't stop to consider the consequences before he goes around bragging about love and Yukina. I didn't put so much time into raising him just to have him go and get himself killed."

"Things will work out for the best." Kurama's voice remained calm and confident. "And we'll all be present for the ceremony to make sure of it."

"So you know for sure that Hiei's coming?"

"Kuwabara said that Yukina had gotten in touch with Botan," he answered, "she'll probably bring Hiei along with her."

The brunette paused to ponder this, "Why would Botan be bringing Hiei?"

"Well um-" Kurama had done something a bit unlike himself, he'd gone and let the cat out of the bag.

"Spill it fox boy." Shizuru ordered in a tone that was not to be disobeyed.

Sighing the redhead complied, knowing that she was trustworthy. "I must ask you to keep this in strict confidence for now. You see Hiei is affected by the Koorime reproductive instincts too, only...he must seek out a mate."

"Oh boy," Shizuru fought back a laugh, "and Botan's the lucky girl?"

"I assure you it was consensual."

"So the gang's gonna have three married girls, two of them pregnant?" Shizuru mused, "Makes me feel like the odd one out."

Kurama felt his cheeks grow hot and knew that a deep blush had spread over his face.

Noticing his silence she decided to tease him for a minute, "Well there's Genkai. Yeah, she and I can spend the rest of our lives alone rocking out in front of the temple with about ninety cats or so for companionship."

The normally suave and collected kitsune was at a loss for words. Several emotions were swirling around inside him right now: guilt, uneasiness, embarrassment, and...longing?

Basking in the tense silence she'd caused Shizuru decided to throw him a bone, "Okay Kurama, you can stop with the awkward silence. Why don't you just give me a lift to the chapel when they call back?"

"Um...al-alright." he swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. Women could certainly be mischievous creatures, when they put their sly little minds to it. And this one in particular had a knack for catching the great Yoko Kurama off guard.

"Great," she grinned, "I'll go get ready. See you then."

"Okay."

With a smirk she added, "It's a date."

_Click._

With his face redder than his hair Kurama hung up the phone and sat the book he'd been reading aside. After a few seconds of staring off into space with a look of surprise and embarrassment on his face he sighed. _How does she do this?_

_

* * *

_

_Amanda/Artiste: _Ah the story that proves that there's someone out there for everyone, at least in the world of Yu Yu Hakusho. Next Chapter: A wedding, an angry fire demon, a confused groom, and one big surprise! Why not surprise me with some more reviews? ::_kitty face_:: Please? Meow!


	7. Inlaws the Catch to Wedded Bliss

**A/N:** Don't hurt me, here's your update! As to Kurama/Shizuru, he's technically hundreds of years older than her. His human form is the only thing younger, and that's only by a couple of years or so. No biggie, there have been wider age gaps between lovers throughout history. I think they make a good couple, practical yet not to be messed with. I've got a deviant art gallery now (cause my dang website is a pain to reconstruct) and I'll be adding some of my YYH art to it soon...honest!

_**Driven by Instinct, Guided to Love**_

_Chapter Seven: In-Laws the Catch to Wedded Bliss_

"Hiei did what!" Keiko exclaimed with wide fearful eyes.

"Stop shouting Keiko!" Yusuke snapped, "Sheesh it's bad enough that I had to listen to Kuwabara's loudmouth this morning."

"Yusuke, are you telling me that Botan is MARRIED to **_Hiei_**?" his wife demanded, "And on top of everything else she's expecting!"

"Well...yeah." Yusuke shrugged, "Look it's not that bad. Kurama and I went over to her apartment like Koenma said and there they were."

"Y-you walked in on them!" Keiko gasped in horror.

"NO!" Yusuke's cheeks went bright red, "They were already—ya know—finished. And asleep...well, Botan was anyway."

"Wow," Keiko murmured, "I'm surprised Hiei didn't slice you apart."

"Believe me he gave it some serious thought," Yusuke assured her, "But the point is they're together now and that may be the one thing that saves that idiot's life."

"Wait," Keiko put a hand to her forehead, "so Botan and Hiei are married-"

"I think the correct term is 'mated'."

"-and now Kuwabara and Yukina are 'mated' and planning to get married."

"Right."

"So then...why do you think Hiei is going to kill Kuwabara?" Keiko was stumped, Yusuke and his secrets always managed to give her a headache and half.

Sighing Yusuke caved, he **had** promised to start being more truthful with her. No time like the present to make good on that. "Well it's kinda complicated. You remember a while back before the Dark Tournament started when I needed to use Kuwabara's VCR to watch a tape I got?"

"Yes..."

"Ehehe...um that tape was actually a rescue mission to save Yukina from this greedy butt-ugly businessman." Yusuke explained, "That's when we first met up with Toguro and his weird shape-shifting brother. Long story short Hiei wasn't supposed to know about it because Yukina is his sister."

"WHAT!" Keiko went from dumbfounded to furious in nothing flat. "Hiei's the long lost brother that poor Yukina's been searching all over for! You've known that for this long and still haven't told her! Yusuke how could you!"

"Hold it!" he had to block several blows from his infuriated wife, "Take it easy will ya! I didn't say anything then because Hiei would've diced up that businessman and landed himself in prison for life or worse. And I haven't said anything since because Hiei doesn't want her to know. In fact he's threatened to slaughter anyone who breathes a word of it within ten feet of her!"

"Why wouldn't he want his own sister to know who he is!" Keiko demanded, "It doesn't make any sense Yusuke! How heartless can he be?"

"I don't think he's doing it to hurt her." her husband replied solemnly, "He's probably just trying to protect her. Hiei hasn't exactly led the life of a saint ya know? His past is a dark one and he's slain his fair share of apparitions. I've talked to Kurama about it a couple of times and we both agree that Hiei's most likely hiding the truth so that Yukina won't have to deal with being related to a bloodthirsty thief."

"B-but..." Keiko felt a mixture of both understanding and anger towards the small fire youkai. Admittedly she comprehended his reasoning and thought it somewhat noble of him to strive so hard to preserve Yukina's naive conception of her brother. However, Yukina was desperately seeking him out, worrying herself constantly, and certainly possessed the compassion necessary to forgive her brother of his past misdeeds.

Sighing she let her gaze fall to the floor. The only thing she could think to say was a simple, "...he's changed now."

Placing his hands lightly atop her shoulders Yusuke pulled his wife against him in a gentle embrace. "I know," a small smile played on his lips, "and I also know that if you could find it in yourself to love someone like me then Yukina shouldn't have any trouble loving a guy like Hiei."

Smiling herself now Keiko lifted her head and shared a tender kiss with the raven-haired fighter. "Yusuke you big softy." she teased, "Hm...Kuwabara and Hiei definitely don't get along. But it would awful if they got in a fight during the wedding."

"Don't worry," Yusuke chuckled, "now that Botan's got some pull with him I'm sure Hiei will be on his best behavior."

"Yes," Keiko grinned slyly, "nothing like a perturbed lover to bring a man to his knees."

Sweating Yusuke let out a nervous laugh, "Wouldn't I know it."

* * *

It was approximately four o'clock that afternoon when a cab came pulling up in front of Botan's apartment complex. The ferry girl wasted no time in shoving her new hubby out the revolving doors and onto the sidewalk. 

"C'mon Hiei!" she grunted as she pushed him towards the yellow taxi. "We've got to hurry or we'll be late!"

"Late for what?" he inquired suspiciously. "And where are we going? You've been acting stranger than usual ever since you hung up that accursed phone. Who was that and why do they keep calling?"

"You know you ask a lot of questions Hiei," Botan sweatdropped, "Why don't you just get inside the cab and you'll find out when we get there, hm?"

Hiei cocked an eyebrow. He didn't like all this secrecy. He was agitated enough with the mating instincts screaming at him twenty-four seven, he didn't need Botan's evasiveness adding to his tension.

Placing a foot against the bottom of the cab door he spoke firmly, "You will tell me now who that was on the phone and where we are going or I will pry the answers from your mind using my Jagan Eye."

Trembling a bit from the sheer amount obduracy the command held the ferry girl wracked her brain for some sort of convincing reply. _Oh why does he have to be so unyielding? How impatient can a person be? It's not like I can just be expected to come up with these things on the spot you know!_

"Look we're going to see Kurama and the others okay?" she only hoped that the tone she'd managed was enough to satisfy the demon's curiosity.

Staring back at her with half-lidded eyes the emotionless youkai spoke, "And the caller?"

Shifting about a bit Botan swallowed before answering, "Keiko—yes—it was Keiko! She was...uh...inviting us along!"

Hiei arched an eyebrow but lowered his foot so that she could open the door. After doing so she nervously gestured for him to climb in but wound up getting in first herself when she received only a silent stare in response.

_Whatever's really going on she won't be able to hide it for long._ Hiei resolved, _The onna never was much good at keeping secrets. She'll sing like a stoolpigeon by the time we reach the end of the block._

* * *

But amazingly the blue haired ferry girl was able to remain silent...well...to retain the key bits of information that would send Hiei into a raging inferno. The tension in the back of the cab was so thick you could slice it with a katana. By the time they arrived at their destination Botan was ready to dive out into the street just for a chance to breathe. 

_I don't know whether it's the stress from not telling or the lack of ventilation back here but it feels like my stomach's doing cartwheels._ Botan leaned forward a good ways and started rocking against her arms.

"Onna?"

"I'm alright," she smiled faintly, "I just need some air. Oh look! We're here!"

Reluctantly Hiei turned his gaze away from her long enough to glance out the window and-

Despite her queasy spell the fuchsia eyed woman couldn't help but laugh at the terrified expression on her lover's face.

_A-A WEDDING CHAPEL?_ Now it was Hiei who felt sick. _How could she drag me to a wedding chapel! Is the baka onna mad!_

"Relax Hiei," she giggled, "the ceremony isn't for us. According to Reikai and Makai laws we're already married so there's really no need to do things according to human customs."

A wave of relief washed over the crimson eyed demon before a looming question presented itself, "If this wedding isn't for us onna...then who's getting married?"

"Um..." Botan sweatdropped, another wave of nausea had set in.

A light tap at the window saved her an explanation. With Hiei's attention once again drawn away she mouthed a silent 'thank you' to her rescuer.

"Kurama?"

"Hello Hiei," the redhead waved before opening the door and offering the occupants a hand, "and Botan, nice to see that both of you could make it."

"Be honest," a brunette smirked stepping out from behind the fox, "you two are just here for the cake too right?"

"Ugh," Botan grimaced clutching the fabric before her stomach, "don't mention food."

"Botan?" Kurama turned to the hunched over woman whose face was tinged with green, "Are you alright? Do you need to lie down?"

"No I'm fine," she waved him back dismissively, "Cabs are always so stuffy, I just need to spend a few minutes out in this fresh air."

Hiei paid the cab driver then turned back around to find that Yusuke and Keiko were walking out the chapel doors.

"Hey Hiei, you made it." Yusuke beamed, "At least your monkey suit looks more comfortable than mine."

Hiei quirked an eyebrow, why was the detective dressed up? Taking a moment to study his surroundings closer he noticed that everyone was wearing formal attire. Botan had insisted that they 'dress nice' before leaving the apartment but he assumed that it was some womanly fetish about having her mate look appropriate when in public. He'd decided to indulge her for the time being...and in turn be indulged later for his compliance.

Crimson eyes darted from Kurama to Shizuru and back again, "So I presume that this little 'ceremony' that I've been duped into attending is for you two."

"What?" a deep blush instantly covered both of the accused.

"Ahahaha!" Yusuke couldn't suppress a laugh, "What makes you think that **_they're_** the ones getting married! Geez they haven't even come out as an official item yet Hiei, don't ya think marriage would be jumping the gun a little?"

Hiei was not amused, "I was already forced to attend the wedding ritual of you and your mate detective. Botan has assured me that I'm not to be made to endure a similar farce for our mating. So if not the kitsune and oaf's sister then for whose union are we celebrating?"

Everyone instantly fell silent. No one wanted to be the one to break the news to Hiei. As the agitated fire demon suspiciously glanced around a thought occurred...

"Speaking of idiocy, where's the oaf?"

Shizuru cast a nervous look in Kurama's direction. The redhead fake coughed into his fist, "Inside Hiei—with Yukina."

Botan studied her husband warily and began to mentally countdown the seconds until Kuwabara's doom. _Three...two...one..._

"**NANI!**"

In a flash Hiei was inside the chapel leaving the others to hightail it in behind him.

"Well," Kurama sighed as they ran, "the pieces have finally clicked together."

* * *

Inside there was a small lobby where a short hallway branched off on each side. Down these halls were bathrooms, storage closets, and small changing rooms. 

The groom was humming happily to himself in one of these rooms as he straightened his tie in front of a full length mirror.

"Oh man," he chuckled, "my wedding day. I can't believe it's finally here! Ah my sweet snow angel, I can hardly contain my excitement! Hehe!"

_**WHAM!**_

Kuwabara's eyes widened when he spotted Hiei's reflection in the mirror. The panting fire demon had barged right through the door nearly tearing it off its hinges.

"Hey!" the carrot top was peeved, "Watch it Shorty, you're payin' for that!"

It was then that he noticed the fierceness of Hiei's reddening gaze. The little youkai wore a look to kill!

"Um...Hiei?"

Snarling Hiei sprung on the startled human determined to rip his ugly face off.

* * *

_Inside Yukina's dressing room (down the opposite hall)..._

The short stature ice apparition softly hummed a happy tune as she placed the bridal veil atop her head. She couldn't help but smile at her reflection in the mirror as she thought about the wonderful future which awaited her.

"Kazuma is such a kind soul," she sighed almost dreamily, "I know he'll be a good father to my—heh—**our **children."

The green haired youkai jumped when the door was abruptly flung open and three young women came rushing inside.

"What's going on?" she asked innocently as Shizuru slammed the door closed and pressed her back against it.

"N-nothing dear," Botan stammered nervously, her eyes darting back to the door.

"Oh Yukina!" Keiko beamed in a desperate attempt to change the subject, "You look so pretty in that dress!"

The scarlet eyed girl blushed and smoothed out the fabric around her waist, "Do you think so? It's not exactly like a typical wedding gown but Kazuma assured me it would do."

"It's very pretty Yukina," Shizuru smiled, panting a bit from her sprint down the hall. "Do you like it?"

Yukina turned back to the full length mirror and examined the dress she wore. It was a beautiful shade of ice blue. The silky fabric turned white wherever an adequate amount of light fell. The veil itself was white with ice blue ribbon trim. "I do," she whispered in awe of how remarkably stunning she appeared.

"Great," Botan rushed over to the stands of flower arrangements and began plucking out roses, daises, and anything else that seemed suitable to form an attractive bouquet, "now we just grab some flowers and-"

_**CRASH!**_

"I'LL** KILL **YOU YOU DESPICABLE CLOD!"

"HEY! WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM SHRIMP?"

"**YOU** YOU BAKA OAF!"

_**SMASH!**_

"Oh dear," Yukina made a move for the door but found her path blocked by Shizuru and Botan. "What's going on out there?"

"Nothing!" Botan and Shizuru exclaimed simultaneously.

Yukina arched an eyebrow looking more worried than reassured, "But it sounds like someone's fighting—with Kazuma."

"Fighting?" both girls turned to each other and forced a laugh.

"That's silly Yukina," Keiko spoke as she rushed up from behind, "why would Kuwabara be fighting with anyone now? You're getting married, it's a happy occasion!"

"Well-"

"Hiei sheathe your katana this instant," Kurama's voice ordered, "you're in a church!"

"-I'm going out there." Yukina resolved but her exit was still blocked.

"Better not," Shizuru sweatdropped, "I mean, it sounds like they've got everything under control."

"SHIELD YOUR FACE KUWABARA!" this time it was Yusuke's voice, "REIKAI KNOWS IT LOOKS BAD ENOUGH ALREADY!"

"YUSUKE!" Keiko shouted, appalled by his insensitive remark.

_**SHATTER!**_

"HAHA! YOU'VE RUN OUT OF ROOM TO RUN NOW BAKA!"

"That's Hiei," Yukina wedged herself between Botan and her soon to be sister-in-law and grasped the doorknob.

"AAAHHH!" Botan was in a panic. _Gotta stall for time..._

"IS THIS ABOUT ME MAKING YUSUKE THE BEST MAN INSTEADA YOU?" Kuwabara asked. He was completely oblivious to the truth (as was his bride).

Yukina was about to jerk the door open when the ferry girl suddenly seized her wrist.

"Yukina wait!" the blue haired girl chewed on her lower lip before explaining, "It's um—uh—bad luck!"

"Bad luck?" the ice apparition questioned.

"Yes! It's bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding!" Botan nodded with a proud grin.

"She's right!" Keiko piped up, "And you wouldn't want to have bad luck on your wedding day would you?"

"But I'm not superstitious." Yukina stated.

"Maybe not, but my baby bro sure is!" Shizuru blurted out.

"He is?" Yukina and Botan inquired.

Shizuru gave Botan an annoyed glare to which the ferry girl merely grinned sheepishly. "Yep, my bro is a superstitious nutcase alright. He'd go bonkers if somebody broke tradition on his wedding day."

"Oh," Yukina pressed a finger against her chin in thought, "well...I don't want to upset Kazuma."

"Then it's settled!" Keiko clasped her hands together in joyous relief, "Let the boys handle the little tiff down the next hall and we'll help you finish getting ready for your big day!"

"O-kay." Yukina allowed Keiko to take her by the hand and lead her back over to the mirror so that they could finish adjusting the veil. Botan resumed her task of the making the bouquet and Shizuru stood watch by the door. Gradually the smile returned to Yukina's face and soon she was ready for her walk down the aisle.

* * *

_Back inside Kuwabara's dressing room..._

The groom's face was a mixture of anger, surprise, and mostly confusion as he scooted backwards across the floor. The short fire demon advancing on him was snarling dangerously as he began unraveling the bandages around his right arm.

"WHOA, HIEI!" Kuwabara gasped, "HAVE YOU LOST YOUR TINY LITTLE MIND? YOU CAN'T UNLEASH THAT THING IN HERE!"

"He's right Hiei," Kurama struggled to keep his voice calm and reasonable, "the Dragon is too powerful to be contained in this small area. It would surely devour us all."

"Hn, so what's your point?" Hiei seethed drawing nearer to his victim, "I don't care if I'm incinerated so long as I take this blathering idiot with me!"

A smile formed on Yusuke's face as he remembered a certain leverage he had with Hiei. "Maybe you don't care if you wind up dragon bait...but I bet **_Botan_** sure would."

Pausing Hiei cringed at the smug comment, "Leave it to you Detective to find the one flaw in my otherwise perfect plan."

"Sorry man," Yusuke laughed, "all's fair in love and war!"

"I'm impressed Yusuke," Kurama smirked, "that was actually rather brilliant."

"Yeah I'm good for one of those every month or so."

"Um...not to interrupt this rare 'Urameshi's smart' moment but-" Kuwabara was still sprawled out on the floor in his disheveled tuxedo, "-COULD SOMEBODY **PLEASE** TELL ME WHAT THE HECK IS GOIN' ON HERE!"

"Certainly," Hiei replied in an eerily calm tone, "the detective's finally made a valid point however you're still about to die."

"Not without this," Kurama held up the katana that he and Yusuke had managed to pry out of the fire demon's grasp a few minutes ago.

"Hn, don't be a fool Fox." Hiei held up a dark flaming fist, "I don't need a weapon _or_ my Dragon of the Darkness Flame to annihilate this nuisance."

The two fighters exchanged worried glances before Kurama tried again, "I can't believe you'd ruin Yukina's happiness simply because you're not all that fond of Kuwabara."

"Yeah!" the carrot top still wasn't sure what had crawled up Hiei's pants but from the look on his face he could tell that Kurama had managed to hit a nerve, "And we're supposed to be teammates too!"

Hiei's gaze fell on Kuwabara again, his expression one of angry reluctance. "You and I may have fought on the same team once or twice in the past human but I have **_never_** thought of you as my teammate. Or anything less than an incompetent hindrance for that matter!"

Kuwabara got to his feet and took a few steps towards the unwavering demon. "Is that so Hamster Legs?"

Fortunately Yusuke managed to intervene. "Cool it Kuwabara, you're not doing yourself any favors!"

With a tired sigh Kurama stepped into the center of the insult war and spoke in an almost pleading tone, "I think it's time that the both of you ended this pointless feud and tried to get along for once. For Yukina's sake if nothing else. After all, as much as you two claim to despise one another you do have one common ground-"

Hiei and Kuwabara hesitantly broke their heated stare and shifted their eyes towards the redhead.

"-your love for Yukina." the kitsune continued. "You both wish for her to be happy do you not? Well then like it or not you're both going to have to learn to tolerate each other."

_After all..._ Kurama was using telepathy to speak directly to Hiei now _...you are about to be in-laws._

_Kurama..._ Hiei mentally growled his eyes aflame as he now felt betrayed by his closest friend _...I can hardly believe that you're on **his **side._

_I'm not taking sides Hiei._ Kurama's gaze was steady and sincere. _I'm merely asking that you consider the consequences of your actions. Kuwabara might not be your first choice for Yukina but he is **her** choice. And even you must admit—she could've chosen worse._

Hiei's rage was boiling over as he struggled to keep it all pent up inside. As usual, the fox was right. Kuwabara may be a fool, a klutz, and a flirtatious pain in the ass but he was still a...nice guy. And he'd certainly be a loyal, loving husband to Yukina; and most likely a caring, protective, devoted father to her offspring.

The dark flames rising from Hiei's clenched fist died away as he lowered his right arm yet raised his left and pointed a finger directly at Kuwabara.

"You had better not mess this up baka." his voice was low and threatening. "Because if you hurt her—I'll torture you so relentlessly that you'll beg for the sweet release of Hell!"

Standing as straight as he could the orange haired fighter tried to hide the trembling of his frame as he swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded. _Whoa, I never realized how protective Hiei is of girls. Guess he really does have some kinda honor code after all._

"Hey great!" Yusuke beamed, relieved that he wouldn't have to whip out the ol' Spirit Gun and play tough love referee, "What a touching moment huh? Group hug!"

Hiei's glare revealed he wasn't in the mood for any of Yusuke's jokes.

"Okay then...forget the group hug." the detective frowned. "Let's just get this over with so we can ditch these stuffy penguin suits."

"Agreed," Kurama nodded as Kuwabara fixed his clothes. Once everyone seemed ready to go he walked swiftly towards the door and motioned out into the hall, "Shall we?"

* * *

_Amanda/Artiste:_ First of all I'd like to thank everyone for being so patient with me. I know you've been waiting FOREVER for me to update this but for some reason I was having trouble getting the last few pages of this chapter finished. Writer's block is a terrible curse. :-( But it's out now so yay, eleven new pages, hope you enjoyed! Review and let me know and I'll try to pick up the pace with my updating okay? Next Chapter: A secret is blown and poor Botan's not feeling so hot. Wonder why? 


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